The Hidden World
by Edelweiss Dragonborn
Summary: This is my version of the Hidden World. The character Eclipse makes her first appearance in Long on the Run by Splendidguy44.
1. A New Beginning

**The Hidden World**

Avalon and her friends were laying on a grassy hillside that over looked Draconia's eastern shore. They were playing a game of marbles. The spring sun shone down on them and the sea breeze passed over their scales.

Princess Avalon was the leader of the group. She was teal green with purple horns, spines, and claws. Her eyes were a rich lavender. Her body, legs, and neck were very slender, more slender than other dragons of her breed, Whippertail. It made her wings look enormous. She wore a silver crown that had was decorated with carvings of peacock feathers, and sapphire stones. She also wore a neck band that was carved in the shape of a peacock feather, with matching wristbands. She had had wrapped tiny starling silver chains embedded with purple gems around her horns. Peacocks were her favorite bird, and always covered herself in peacock feathers and colors. Avalon was extremely excited because that summer, she'd be crowned queen. But that had lead a few cons as well. For one every male dragon her age kept trying to flirt with her, hoping she'd choose one of them to be her new king.

However the only dragon Avalon had eyes for, was Eider. He was a large Whippertail-Blackfang hybrid. He was a complete hulk of a dragon with 6500 pounds of solid muscle, making him the largest and strongest of the group. He had rich purple scales with black horns and spines, and amber gold eyes. His teeth were so venomous that they were solid black. He wore a platinum head plate with green, orange, and red. Which matched the colors of a king eider duck. Around his neck an amber sphere the size of a human fist hung from a golden chain. It had a glowing crystal inside it, that made the amulet glow red-orange. It was the Lunar Eclipse Amulet. It had magical properties such as protecting the group from being controlled by an evil influence and making them unable to be chained or caged.

Avalon's brother Prince Apollo had enchanted it himself. He was a blood red dragon with golden horns, spines, claws, and eyes. Both he and Avalon had be born with ability to do magic. He wore a brown, leather utility vest that had several pockets in various shapes and sizes. They held the various items he'd enchanted. Such as a food bowel that could double anything put into it, a pair of slates that could be used to relay messages back and forth, a piece of crystal that was enchanted to find anything it was told to, and around his neck on a leather string was a river stone that could heal even the most horrific and life-threatening surface wound. He wore a red crown with a gold insignia of a dolphin leaping over a lyre, all surrounded by a laurel wreath.

Black Widow was only half Night Fury. She was a very rare dragon that was half Night Fury and half Blackfang. She had the head, legs, and neck of a Blackfang and like Eider, her teeth were black and very poisonous. She also had the eyes, sonar flaps, body, tail, fins, wings, and black scales of a Night Fury. Her eyes were scarlet red and on her forehead was a scarlet hourglass like the black widow spiders had on their abdomen. She wore a black head plate that had spider webs carved all over it, and a black spider on the forehead that had the same red hourglass on its abdomen. Around her neck was a black spider pendant on a white gold chain.

Edelweiss Dragonborn was Black Widow's half human, half dragon rider and girlfriend. She was now fifteen. She had jet black hair that she wore in a pair of french dragon tails. She had light tan human skin and patches of white dragon scales on her face, neck, arms, back, and legs. She had emerald green dragon eyes that gave her the vision of a dragon. Being Dragonborn gave her the strength, speed, immortality, and sharper senses of a dragon. Even though the white scales didn't cover her whole body, they still acted as a natural armor and made her fireproof. She also had the ability to control fire. The one downside to being Dragonborn was that she could not reproduce. She wore a white beach dress, a pendant in the shape of the white flower she was named after, and her feet were bare.

Eclipse was Black Widow's younger sister. She was the smallest and youngest member of the group. She was still a dragonet but, was almost full grown. She had hatched during a rare solar eclipse, which inspired her name. She and Black Widow were very close, and loved each other as much as they loved their parents. Eclipse wore a black head plate that had a golden ring on the forehead.

They were in the middle of their marble game. Avalon suddenly heard someone calling her name. She rolled her eyes. They were approached by a pale gray dragon with black freckles on his wings.

"Hello Princess," he said.

"Hi Pompeii," said Avalon. She tried to not look annoyed. Pompeii was one of the male dragons that was trying to win her over.

"What are you up to?" He asked.

"Just playing marbles," said Apollo. "Then we plan to go back into town." Pompeii sat on his haunches and looked out at the ocean. The sun sparkled on the waves.

"It's such a nice day," he said. "Nice day for fishing."

"Yeah it is," Avalon agreed. "But, we're not hungry." She took her turn in the marble game. "You can walk back with us if you want to, as long as you don't mind waiting until our game is over."

"Sure, thanks," said Pompeii. He laid down in the grass between Avalon and Eider. The marble game continued. Eider gave Pompeii a sideways glance. Seeing other male dragons trying to win over Avalon's affections made him very nervous. He worried she'd pick one of them instead of him, he worried he'd be kicked out of the group if she did. Eider had been on Avalon's team since they were small dragonets, ever since his parents died. He must have thought over it for a minuet too long.

"Eider, it's your turn," said Apollo. Eider shook himself and took his turn in the marble game, deciding to talk to the others about this.

Soon the game ended with Edelweiss coming out victorious. Avalon packed up the marbles and they all got to their feet. Edelweiss mounted Black Widow and they headed back towards the nearby town, East Harbor City. Pompeii walked up beside Avalon.

"So, what are you guys going to do now?" He asked, too eagerly. Avalon tried to remain calm, and kept from growling at him.

"I don't know," she said. "We're leaving for Berk in about two weeks, so we have to prepare ourselves."

"Oh, to the human world," said Pompeii. "Perhaps I can go too."

"No, no," said Avalon calmly. "It could be dangerous. We've been there a few times, and things always happened. We've been bound, gagged, caged, and almost killed at times." Pompeii looked more nervous. Just then a pale pink and green dragon flew overhead.

"You're sister's looking for you," said Eider. Pompeii reluctantly spread his wings and flew up to join the other dragon. Avalon breathed a sigh of relief once he was out of sight.

"That's better," she said. "Hopefully they'll back off when I become queen."

"You sure you can handle all this?" Black Widow asked.

"Mother went through the same thing when she was my age," said Avalon. "It's to be expected."

They soon reached the town. It looked like a Chinese village with buildings big enough to house several dragons comfortably. The streets were all made of grass and dirt. Avalon and her friends walked between the tall buildings. The local dragons all greeted them. Just then the town leader, Boiler, trotted up to them. He was an orange dragon with a black stripe down his back, and black wings.

"Hello Boiler," said Avalon.

"Good afternoon Princess, and friends," Boilder said. "When are you heading home?"

"Tomorrow," said Eider. "We have some preparations to make before we head for Berk."

"I see," said Boiler. "Well anyway, I was talking to a few other town leaders a few days ago and we were talking about forming a council once your queen." Avalon narrowed her eyes.

"Councils argue a lot," she said. "And can never agree on anything."

"Well we can break up any arguments," said Apollo. "It might be worth a try." Avalon considered.

"Perhaps," she said. "I'll think about it. I'm not queen yet."

"Thank you Princess," said Boiler. "Have a nice night guys." He spread his wings and took off. Avalon led her friends to the large building in the center of town where they were staying. It looked like a large imperial palace, made of sandstone. A large golden eastern dragon fountain stood in the middle of the large room.

"So what are we going to do tomorrow, once we get home?" Eclipse asked. Avalon considered for a moment.

"Well we have to go try on our new armor," she said. "And Edel has to try on her new gear."

"You also promised Edel and I could spend time alone in the vaults," said Black Widow. Avalon sighed and sat on her haunches. She didn't look super thrilled.

"Yes I did," she said. "Are you two sure about this?" Black Widow and Edelweiss looked at each other.

"We are quite sure," said Edelweiss.

"You know Grandfather isn't too pleased with this arrangement," said Avalon firmly. "But he won't try to stop you, as long as word of this never leaves the castle."

"We understand," said Black Widow. "We don't even need to be down there for a week, three days will work fine."

"And we can leave for Berk right afterward," said Edelweiss. Avalon sighed again.

"Very well," she said. "But tell anyone I allowed this, and I'll deny it." Both Black Widow and Edelweiss nodded. The group headed over to a seating area on the other side of the fountain.

"What will you do if some male turns one of your heads?" Eider asked.

"I don't know," said Edelweiss. "I'm sure no male human will want me looking like this." She gestured to her scales.

"We'll just have to see," said Black Widow. The group dropped the subject and talked about their upcoming trip to Berk. They were both excited and nervous. Avalon could detect it.

"Don't worry my friends," she said. She held up the Lunar Eclipse Amulet from around Eider's neck. "As long as we have this, we'll never be restrained."

"I should enchant other items, so we're as prepared as we can be," said Apollo.

"Not too many items," said Avalon. Apollo nodded and counted his enchanted items.

The next day the group left East Harbor City and headed back towards the city of Bluegreen, and their castle. Edelweiss took turns riding each of her dragon friends, and today, she rode Eclipse. They flew over the landscape. They flew passed more dragons, who greeted them. Avalon was relieved when none of the males came up to her. They flew over the Silver Valley Lake, and the Dragon River.

Soon they reached the city of Bluegreen, where their castle was located.

"Lets go try on our armor before we had home," Avalon suggested. "We can get that out of the way." She led them to the town blacksmith shop and they landed outside it. They found the blacksmith, Steel, hammering way at something. Watching her was her young son Tin, who was a grey dragon with gold eyes, wing membranes, and flecks of gold all over his body. Avalon quietly entered the forge.

"Hello Tin," Avalon said softly.

"Hey guys," Tin said, beaming. "Mother's almost done." At that moment Steel stopped hammering and put the piece of metal into the water barrel to cool it town. She set it all aside and removed her helmet.

"Hello neighbors," she said. "Thank you for waiting."

"Is our armor ready?" Eider asked.

"Yes, in fact I just had it delivered to your castle," said Steel.

"Oh," said Avalon, surprised. "Thank you Steel, thanks Tin." The group left the forge and flew up to their castle. They landed on the lawn and went into the entrance hall.

Inside they found their parents waiting for them. The younger dragons smiled and ran up to them.

"How was the coast?" Queen Aurora asked, as she nuzzled Avalon.

"It was lovely," said Avalon. "Though it was annoying to have all those males chasing me." She snorted irritably. Aurora chuckled.

"Better get used to that," she said. "There will be a lot of it until you become queen. Every young princess goes through that, myself included."

"I had no shortage of competition when she was in line to be queen," Re said, amused. "And she had competition as well, I had countless females chasing after me. It goes away after a while." Avalon felt a bit better. She nuzzled Re's neck.

"Your armor is waiting for you in the great hall," Re said, nuzzling her back.

"We should go try them on," said Avalon. They all headed for the great hall.

Inside they found five suits of dragon armor, all attached with saddles for Edelweiss. The dragons went to work trying on their armor. Avalon's was mallard green and peacock blue, with peacock feathers engraved all over it and the eye of a peacock feather on the head plate, along with sapphires and emeralds. Apollo's was dark red with a gold sun on the chest plate and his insignia on the head plate it had plenty of room for his utility vest. Eider's was silver with purple triangles down the back, neck, and tail, and the king eider duck on the head plate. Black Widow had black armor with dark red spiderwebs engraved all over it, a spider on the chest plate, and a red hour glass on the head plate. Eclipse also had black armor, but with gold trim and a gold ring on the hear plate.

They finished putting on their armor, and they all automatically adjusted to fit each dragon comfortably. Edelweiss stood with the elder dragons, and watched them. Avalon looked over at her.

"Well Edel, how do we look?" She asked.

"Very colorful," said Edelweiss. "I love it."

"You have stuff to try on too," said Re. He gestured to a large box near the dragon armor. Edelweiss went over and opened the box. Aurora conjured a changing screen for Edelweiss to change behind. She ducked behind it with the box, and they all waited.

"So when do you plan on heading out?" Tenor asked.

"Well, this armor was finished sooner then I expected," said Avalon. "So we'll head out in three days." She shivered with excitement. At that moment Edelweiss came out from behind the screen. She now wore a sleeveless, white, cotton, shirt that wrapped around her waist and was secured with a leather golden yellow sash. She also wore a pare of matching white trousers, that was secured by a white snakeskin utility belt that had slots for her switchblade swords, and a buckle in the shape of her white flower. On her feet were a pair of white, leather boots with white fur around the tops, and on her hands were white leather, fingerless gloves. She also had a small bronze claw on each of her fingers, that had a different colored gem on each one; yellow, red, blue, purple, and green. The dragons all beamed at her.

"Do you like it?" Aurora asked. Edelweiss looked down at herself. "It's all been enchanted to never wear, tear, burn, or stain."

"I really like it," Edelweiss said. "Really comfortable. This fabric is really soft."

"It's cotton," said Chris. "It's from the eastern countries."

"Thanks," said Edelweiss. She hugged her parents, then her grandparents.

"I bet those guys on Berk won't even recognize us anymore," said Eider.

"They will after a while," said Re. "But yeah, you guys have changed quite a bit." They all left the great hall. Eclipse went up to her parents.

"Hey can I talk to you guys about something?" She asked.

"Of course," said Windwalker. "We'll go for a walk." The three of them left the castle. Black Widow and Edelweiss went over to Avalon. She could already see what was on their minds. She reached into a pocket in her saddlebags, and pulled out a silver medallion with the Draconian crest on it. It was the key to the vaults and dungeon. She handed it to Black Widow.

"Three days," she said, firmly.

"Not a day further," said Black Widow. "And not a word of it will leave this castle."

"Good," said Avalon. "See you later." She left the entrance hall and flew outside.

She landed on a beach near the castle and the city. It was quieter here and there were fewer dragons. Avalon walked along the shore in the shallow water. However it was only quiet for a few minuets. Suddenly she heard someone approaching her.

"Hey Princess," called a bright blue male dragon that was running up to her, followed by a purple and blue female. Avalon paused and acknowledge them.

"Bluejay, Hummingbird," she said, seeing their names in their heads.

"Where are your friends?" Bluejay asked.

"Inside," said Avalon, gesturing to the castle. "What brings you two here?"

"We were here for fresh ocean air," said Bluejay. He looked Avalon up and down. "Is that your new armor?"

"Yes it is," said Avalon.

"It looks lovely," said Hummingbird. Avalon smiled humbly.

"Tell that to Steel, she made it," she said. Just then they were joined by a large navy blue male dragon with gold horns and eyes. Avalon saw in his head that he was their father, EagleEye.

"Bluejay, Hummingbird, don't bother the Princess," he said sternly. "She has enough dragons to deal with."

"It's fine EagleEye," said Avalon. "It's nothing I'm not prepared for."

"You guys leaving for the human world soon?" EagleEye asked.

"In a few days," said Avalon. "We're all excited for it." She looked over at Hummingbird. "I heard you were planning on opening an aviary for hummingbirds."

"Yes, and hopefully make jewelry out of the feathers they shed," said Hummingbird, flushed.

"I plan to do the same with peacocks when I become queen," said Avalon.

"Oh, fun," said Hummingbird. "Bluejay keeps teasing me about wanting to eat the hummingbirds." She glared at her brother.

"I don't think you have to worry about that, hummingbirds aren't eatable," said Avalon.

"I know that," said Bluejay. "I don't mean it."

"Well, we need to head out fishing," said EagleEye. "We wish you luck in the human world your highness, I know you'll do us all proud." Avalon smiled at him. The three of them spread their wings and flew off. Avalon went back to walking along the beach.

The next three days went by quietly. Black Widow and Edelweiss stayed in the vaults the whole time, and no one disturbed them. The rest of the group spent the time preparing themselves for the trip, in anyway possible. Avalon continued to be approached by male dragons. She talked to them, but gave no signs of interest in them.

Soon Black Widow and Edelweiss came out of the vaults and rejoined the group, the day before the group planned to leave for Berk. They all spent the night in the great hall, they planned to head out first thing in the morning.

"This should be so fun," said Apollo. "Though do you think we should stay out of any human dwellings. Last thing I want is to make a mess, and get in trouble for it." Avalon considered for a moment.

"Are none of you comfortable going into human buildings?" She asked.

"They're not really build for our kind," said Black Widow.

"I can go into a human building without making a mess," said Edelweiss.

"Very well, except for the hanger and the great hall," said Avalon. "We won't set food in the human buildings, and send Edel in on our behalf."

"That's a plan," said Eider. He looked over at Edelweiss. "And if they bully you, you can just come back out."

"I can handle myself," said Edelweiss. "I'm way stronger than any of those vikings." She made herself comfortable between Black Widow and Apollo.

"Get some rest guys," said Avalon. "We're leaving at the crack of dawn." She stretched her limbs. She used her magic to make a patch of soft grass grow underneath her and her friends, they all laid down on it and went to sleep.

The next morning they got up and stretched. Avalon made the grass vanish. The sun hadn't risen yet but the sky was getting lighter.

"Well, here goes nothing," said Avalon. "Are we ready?" They all confirmed. They made sure their armor and gear were secure. Just then the big doors opened and the elder dragons walked in, with Chris and Serenity.

"Morning guys," said Aurora. "You excited?"

"Nervous too," said Avalon. "But I think we'll be fine." They all headed outside. Edelweiss was about to mount Avalon when her mother tapped her on the shoulder. Edelweiss turned around.

"You might need this," Serenity said, holding up her medical bag. Edelweiss looked surprised.

"But that's your medical bag," she said.

"You better bring it back then," said Serenity, with a smile. Edelweiss took the bag and put on the back of Avalon's saddle. Then she hugged her mother, then her father.

"Thank you," she said.

"You guys take care of each other," said Aurora. "And Draco will take care of you."

"We will," said Avalon. Edelweiss made sure she had her bow, arrows, and switchblade swords, then mounted Avalon. They spread their wings and took off. They flew over the castle, and over the sea. They headed north towards Berk.


	2. Raiders Return to Busy Berk

Chapter 2

Avalon and her friends flew high over the ocean. Draconia was far behind them and the sun was far overhead. Edelweiss put her hair into a pair of warrior braids so it was out of her face, and uncovered her scales. They sang as they flew among the clouds. They didn't see a speck of land for hours. They didn't see a whole lot of wildlife either, just the occasional bird.

"Are we even going the right way?" Apollo asked.

"Yes," said Avalon. "We're almost there."

"I'm not complaining," said Eclipse. "I could fly like this for days." She slow flip in the air.

"Well we're not flying for days," said Avalon. "Seriously, we're almost there." Suddenly they heard dragons up ahead. They looked to see six dragons flying towards them. As they got closer Avalon recognized them as Hiccup, his riders, and their dragons. The group got excited. Avalon roared at them, alerting the riders. She turned her formation around and pulled up alongside the riders. First thing they noticed was that all the riders were wearing armor made of leather and dragon scales. Each rider's armor matched their respective dragons.

"Hey Hiccup," said Avalon, excitedly.

"Avalon, fancy seeing you guys up here," said Hiccup. "Wow you guys look great." He looked at all their armor and gear.

"You guys look great too," said Apollo. "I'm loving the costumes."

"These aren't costumes," said Fislegs, slightly offended. "This is our battle armor. Forged from the scales of our own dragons. It's completely fireproof."

"Oooh," said Edelweiss. "Do I feel underdressed." She looked down at herself.

"You aren't the only human with scales anymore Dragonborn," said Snotlout smugly.

"Yes, but I grew my scales," Edelweiss pointed out. "You guys are using another dragon's scales." Avalon changed the subject.

"So where are you guys off to?" She asked.

"We're going to raid some dragon hunter ships," said Astrid. "And free all the dragons they've captured."

"Ooh, can we help?" Eider asked.

"We already have a plan set up," said Snotlout. "You guys will mess it up." Avalon snarled and gnashed her teeth.

"Ignore him," said Astrid, rolling her eyes. "We could certainly use your help." The Draconian beamed. Avalon steered her formation to keep pace with the other one. Hiccup went over his plan with them. They were excited, but managed to keep it under control.

The sun soon set. The convoy soon spotted a large hunting ship below. The dragons circled it staying well out of sight.

"Okay, we'll need a fog cover," Hiccup whispered.

"Done," said Avalon quickly. She hovered in the air. She gave her wings a powerful thrust, summoning a strong wind. At once fog rolled in and covered the ship.

"Thanks Avalon," said Hiccup. He steered Toothless down to the ship. The Night Fury blended in with the darkness, and since Hiccup was wearing Toothless's black scales, he blended in as well. They landed silently on the deck. They spotted a hunter patrolling the deck with a lantern. He was walking between the rows of large cages, each one holding a dragon. Hiccup jumped down in front of the hunter and pulled out his sword, Inferno. Toothless circled around unseen. The hunter now spotted Hiccup and held up his lantern. Hiccup lit up Inferno. The hunter frowned.

"What are you?" The hunter asked.

"Shh," Hiccup whispered. Just then the hunter heard growling behind him. He turned to see Toothless crawling off of a cage, activating his titan wing. Toothless snarled. The hunter panicked an ran at Hiccup. Hiccup dodged him, causing the lantern to fall to the floor, and ignited the deck. The hunter turned around as Hiccup and Toothless walked through the fire, not even paying attention to it. The hunter screamed.

"AHHHH, you're a demon!" He yelled.

"No, I'm not a demon," Hiccup said, removing his mask. "See, just a guy. Here to rescue these dragons."

"But you walked through fire," the hunter shrieked.

"Dragon scales," Hiccup explained, pointing to the scales on his armor. "Dragons shed a lot."

"Oh, I know a demon when I see one," the hunter scoffed. "No human legs are that skinny." He turned to run, but was suddenly blocked by a flaming Hookfang. Snotlout stood up in the saddle.

"Think that's a great entrance," he boasted. "Get a load of me." But then his pants caught on fire, which caused him to dance on the spot.

"AHH, more demons!" The hunter yelled. Hiccup pinched the bridge of his nose.

"That's really a nitwit who forgot to fireproof his butt," he said. Then Barf and Belch landed and the Twins emerged.

"Behold your worst nightmare," said Tuffnut. "Along with his sister, who insisted on coming along." Hiccup sighed in frustration.

"Guys too soon," he said. "You always come in too soon." Then Fishlegs crash landed in front of him.

"Sorry, still getting the hang of my wings," he said. Hiccup then heard loud chripping coming from Fishlegs's pocket.

"Fishlegs, again with the baby?" Hiccup asked. A baby Gronckle poked his head out of Fishlegs's pocket. "This is a raid."

"I couldn't find his sitter," said Fishlegs. Just then Black Widow and Edelweiss landed. The hunter was running in circles, screaming his head off. He was suddenly knocked out by Astrid. He fell to the ground unconscious.

"Astrid, he was right where I wanted him," Hiccup complained.

"And now he's were I want him," said Astrid, with a smirk.

"Okay, we screwed that up," said Hiccup. "At least no one else knows we're here."

The riders and dragons split up and went to free the caged dragons. Edelweiss helped Fishlegs opened the door of the largest cage. Inside was an enormous purple and orange dragon, with moose antlers the size of a fishing boat.

"A Crimson Goregutter!" Fishlegs exlaimed excitedly. The baby Gronckle ran up to the big dragon squealing excitedly. The Goregutter looked down curiously at him. Edelweiss calmly approached the dragon. The Goregutter looked at her.

"Hello sir," she said in Dragontongue. "Would like to have that muzzle removed." She pointed to the muzzle on the dragon's head. She jumped and climbed up to his head. She pulled off the muzzle. The dragon shook his head with relief.

"Thank you miss," he said.

"I'm Edelweiss Dragonborn, and this is Fishlegs," said Edelweiss. "What's your name?"

"My name is Moose," the dragon said. "I've heard of you Dragonborn." Edelweiss translated for Fishlegs. Suddenly they heard more hunters coming at them. Edelweiss jumped down from the big dragon and whipped out her switchblade swords.

"Get the rescues out of here," Hiccup ordered. The hunters attacked the riders, outnumbering them. The riders tried fighting the hunters, but kept having to get rescued by their dragons.

"I thought this was a stealth mission," said Astrid.

"Yeah they always start that way," said Hiccup. Just then several hunters rushed at them, weapons drawn. Suddenly Edelweiss came out of no where, like a ghost, and managed to take down several hunters all by herself. It was like watching a mouse take down a whole pride of lions. A moment later, half a dozen hunters lay at her feet unconscious. She wasn't even panting. Soon the rescued dragons left their cages and took off.

"Move out," ordered Hiccup. "We got them all." The dragons grabbed their riders and flew them off the ship. Edelweiss jumped onto the nearest wild dragon, a Snafflefang, and took off as well.

Toothless was walking among the now empty cages, making sure no one was left behind. He passed one, and suddenly got the feeling he was being watched. He turned and looked into the cage, it was empty. He could sense a presence in there, but saw nothing. Was was about to investigate when he heard Hiccup calling him. Toothless turned and ran off, not seeing the pair of blue eyes that suddenly materialized inside the cage.

Toothless barreled through the hunters that were cornering Hiccup. Hiccup jumped into the saddle as Toothless took off.

"You always have my back bud," Hiccup said. They left the ship and rejoined the others.

The riders and dragons headed back to Berk. Edelweiss jumped from the Snafflefang onto Avalon, thanking the other dragon. Hiccup was pleased with the turn out, seeing all the newly rescued dragons.

"That was fun," said Avalon. "Though we didn't get to do a whole lot."

"There wasn't a whole lot to do," said Toothless. "But we appreciate you tagging along anyway." Avalon shrugged and didn't complain.

It took the rest of the night to get to Berk. The sun was well risen by the time they spotted the island. The Draconians were excited. Then the village of Berk came into view, and it boggled their minds. The place was unrecognizable. The rock that held the village was hidden under a massive swarm of dragons, and thousands of what looked like giant bird houses stacked on top of each other.

"Woah," said Avalon. "That is a lot of dragons." Hiccup however, looked thrilled as they flew passed the large viking statues.

"This is Berk," he announced to the rescues. "You new home away from home. A stunning, one-styled, all-expense-paid dream destination." They soared among the dragon houses and the dragons. "The service here soars, the cuisine is fiery, and the locals are as colorful as they get." He lead them towards the now very small, looking plaza. Hiccup continued. "And run of the mill paradise boast beaches and sunshine. But not us. For we have something no one else can can touch. We have dragons, lots and lots of dragons."

"Too many I'd say," said Eider. The dragons all headed to a tall totem with beams sticking out of it. Toothless landed on the highest beam and the beams rotated diagonally downward. The Goregutter landed on the next beam and rode it down to the ground. The other dragons followed suit, except for the Draconians. They circled the totem, looking at it unsure.

"How are we supposed to land on a moving perch?" Black Widow asked. "It's hard enough to land on a branch that's being blown by the wind." The other dragons were on the ground already.

"Gang, meet our latest Berkians," Hiccup announced as the Gorgutter roared happily. The vikings went to greet the rescues. Toothless noticed the Draconians circling, looking for a place to land.

"Hey are you guys going to come down or what?" He called up to them. Avalon and her friends stopped and hovered. They looked left and right, but there wasn't a patch of ground big enough for all of them to land.

"How?" Avalon asked.

"Just land on that, you'll be find," Toothless pointed at the landing totem.

"What happened to just landing on the ground like normal?" Avalon asked.

"Err, things have gotten tight around here you may have noticed," Toothless said. "It's totally safe, you're fine." Avalon flew up to the landing totem, and timidly landed on a beam. It started moving and she jumped to the ground when it was low enough. The others soon followed suit, and safely landed on the ground.

"There, that wasn't so bad was it," said Toothless. "I agree it's silly, but it is kind of fun." The Draconians nodded in agreement. They looked over at the riders who were talking about there recent raid.

"Well, I think the real hero of the day was Toothless," Hiccup praised, giving his friend a scratch behind the ears. "What would we do without you O King of Dragons?" He cooed. Toothless cooed back.

"Well, we could train a lot hard for one thing," said Astrid, stroking Stormfly. "That was pretty sloppy."

"Astrid has a point," said Valka. "Perhaps you rely too much on your dragons, and not enough on one another."

"It was fun to watch though," said Edelweiss, dismounting. Now that she was off her dragon's back, and standing still, they could see just how small she was. She was pretty tiny, yet with her hair pulled back and her dragon eyes, she looked fierce.

"That was pretty impressive for your first battle," Toothless told her, nibbling her shoulder. She giggled and petted his snout. "You really did your father proud."

"Thank you," Edelweiss said sweetly, scratching his ears. "Now I just have to do my mother proud too." Just then the baby Gronckle jumped out of Fishlegs's pocket and dashed over to the Goregutter. Moose looked down at him, looking delighted.

"Fishmeat, you found a new friend," said Fishlegs excitedly. Edelweiss watched them, curious.

"What's with the baby?" She asked.

"Ah, that's Meatlug's new dragonet," Toothless said, rolling his eyes. "Fishlegs insists on bringing it everywhere we go. I keep telling Meatlug that bringing him to battle is too dangerous. But she's pretty confident he's safe with Fishlegs." Just then Moose started playing with Fishmeat, but accidentally bumped into the landing totem. The totem fell into several dragon houses, and it all came crashing down. Dragons scattered in surprised. Gobber the Belch came barging out of his forge.

"What good is having the King of Dragons around if he can't even keep the peace?" He bellowed. Hiccup turned to Toothless.

"Hey bud, you want to do something here?" He asked. Toothless stood at his full height.

"Hey Gorgutter!" He barked. At once the Gorgutter stopped and looked at him. "Tone it down, we don't want anyone getting hurt."

"I am sorry your majesty," he said, bowing humbly. Valka was quick to spot the sad look on the Draconians' faces.

"What's wrong Avalon?" She asked.

"It's just kind of sad that dragons don't have space to play here," said Avalon sadly. "I still remember me and my friends constantly getting shouted at every time we tried to play a game." Edelweiss clutched her wrist, remembering being shackled and chained.

"I agree it's become too crowded," said Valka. "But I'm hoping we can think of a better solution." Gobber seemed to be thinking the same thing.

"Where do you suppose we put these ones?" He asked, gesturing to the rescues.

"Ah we'll make room," said Hiccup, bushing it off.

"Um Hiccup, don't you think you might have a slight hoarding problem," Edelweiss said.

"No, I'm not hoarding," Hiccup argued. "I mean I don't force the dragons to live here." Edelweiss considered that.

"Okay then," she said, defeated. Suddenly Gobber shrieked.

"You brought back a Hobbgobler?" He asked, pointing to a small round dragon with black and purple scales. He looked like a tiny Thunderdrum. "They're a bad omen, we're cursed." Everyone rolled their eyes at this. Valka went over to the little dragon.

"Nonsense," she said, picking him up. "What harm can he do?" She examined the dragon. "No injuries. A bit shaken, but otherwise healthy. Now, who's hungry?" The Hobbgobler licked his lips. Hiccup looked over at the Draconians.

"Are you guys hungry, we're heading up to the great hall," he said.

"Edel can go with you, but we dragons prefer a fresh catch," said Eider. "We'll probably grab a snack from the Golden Apple tree."

"Um, that tree is kind of er, gone," said Hiccup uncomfortably. All the Draconians alerted at this.

"What do you mean gone?" Edelweiss asked.

"There was a landslide and that whole ledge gave way," said Hiccup. "It happened too suddenly for us to save the tree." The Draconians looked over at Toothless.

"It's true," he said. "The ledge sank into the ocean, and took the tree with it." Avalon could see in their minds that they weren't lying. Edelweiss looked close to tears.

"I was born under that tree," she said angrily.

"So was I," said Black Widow.

"And me," said Eclipse. Their spirits drained significantly.

"I'm real sorry guys," said Hiccup. "That tree meant a lot to us too." He reached into a saddleback on Toothless's saddle, and pulled out a golden apple. "We were at least able to save this last apple." Edelweiss carefully took the apple, and held it close.

"Thank you," she said. "At least Avalon can regrow it with this."

"Maybe we should put it somewhere a bit safer," said Avalon. "Where it can stretch its roots like the trees back home." Edelweiss put the apple in Avalon's saddlebag. "In the meantime, we should go find somewhere else to sleep tonight." While Edelweiss headed up to the great hall, her dragons walked out of the village.

Inside the great hall, it was packed with vikings and dragons. They were gathered around the tables that were all piled high with food and drink.

"You can't keep bringing dragons back here," Gobber said. "You're just asking for trouble. Those trappers are getting closer by the day."

"We can handle them," said Hiccup, grabbing a red apple from a nearby barrel. "We have the Alpha, aint that right bud?" He tossed the apple to Toothless, who crunched it up. "Relax, we did it. The world's first dragon-viking utopia." They went over to a large cauldron that was bubbling with stew.

"You're utopia maybe," said Gobber. "Mine's less crowded, and more sanitary." He's just spotted he Hobbgobler rolling around in the stew. Toothless saw this too.

"Hey Hobbgobler, get out of the human's food." He ordered. The Hobbgobler sat up and quickly darted to the rim of the cauldron, and crawled out. Satisfied Toothless went over to sit with his friends. Edelweiss had grabbed some red apples, stew, and bread, and was sitting next to them as well. Hiccup and the other riders were gathered around a table.

"You're supposed to be the generation that leads us into the future," said Gobber. Not three seconds after he said that, the vikings broke out into a food fight. Gobber got hit in the face by something. "Thor help us. Time to stop worrying about problems out there, and start worrying about the ones right here." He pulled Hiccup into a very uncomfortable headlock.

"Okay, I'll think about it," Hiccup said, trying to break free.

"Hang up those saddles, and get married," Gobber said. That made everyone pause and look at him. "Start ruling like a proper royal couple." He turned to Astrid. "Marry him please. You're the only one with any sense around here. With you wearing the pants, there's still hope."

"Wow Gobber," Astrid said loudly. "Not awkward at all." She got up and left the table. Gobber released Hiccup and went after her.

Edelweiss finished her meal and got up.

"Where are you going?" Hookfang asked.

"I'm going to see where Avalon and the others are," said Edelweiss. She turned to leave and walked right into Eret son of Eret, who towered over her. Eret looked down at her.

"Hello Ms. Dragonborn," he said pleasantly. "Nice to see you."

"Nice to see you too," Edelweiss said. She could feel her legs trembling. She calmly walked around Eret and walked towards the door.

Once she was outside, she breathed in the fresh air. She walked towards the forest, and away from the village. She fought the urge to look up at where her mother's old tree used to be. Thousands of dragons flew by her. She began looking and calling for her friends. Suddenly she heard someone calling her. She turned to see Toothless walking up to her.

"Hey, was it a bit too much for you in there?" He asked.

"Just a bit too stuffy," Edelweiss said. "I guess I've become too accustomed to wide open spaces." She scratched his ears again, making him purr. "I'm kind of surprised Hiccup hasn't married Astrid already. The way Uncle Tenor talked about, they're closer than a two-headed Zippleback."

"Yeah I don't know what's holding them back," Toothless said. "If it were me I wouldn't hesitate." Edelweiss's looked at him.

"You hoping to fine a female then?" She asked him. Toothless sighed and sat on his haunches.

"I don't know," he said. "Windwalker's the only female I've met so far, and she's with Tenor." Edelweiss hugged him.

"Well at least you have plenty of friends here," she said.

"Yeah," Toothless agreed. He nuzzled her appreciatively. Edelweiss let go and stroked his snout.

"I'm going to go find Avalon and the others," she said. Toothless licked her face, making her laugh. Then both of them wandered off.

Later that evening Hiccup was standing on a cliff near the village. Avalon and her friends were dozing off in a bed of ferns in the shade of the trees. It was much quieter here, and it allowed Hiccup's mind to go back in time a bit. Years ago when Hiccup was about five years old, his father Stoic the Vast had brought him up here. Back then Berk looked very different. Stoic held Hiccup close to him and looked out over the small village.

"Hiccup," he said. "This is Berk son. It's our home, and the home of your grandparents, and their grandparents before them. It's my job as chief to protect us. One day that job will pass to you."

"Okay," Hiccup said.

"It's very important son," Stoic continued. "Because out there lies the home of the dragons. Legend tells of ships that sailed to close to it, only to drop of the edge of the world, never to be seen again. But those who turned back, told tales of a great waterfall. And dragons guarding the entrance to a hidden world. Not just a nest Hiccup, but a world from which all dragons come."

"Even Night Furies?" Hiccup asked timidly.

"Especially Night Furies," said Stoic with a chuckle.

"Those are scary," Hiccup said.

"Don't you worry," said Stoic. "One day I'll find the Hidden World, and seal it up, so that people and dragons will fight no more."

Hiccup came back to the present. He looked at the village, now crawling with dragons. Hiccup had to admit, that the village couldn't handle any more dragons. There were way too many already. Remembering his father's story of the Hidden World, he wondered if the place really existed. If it did, it could be the solution for both viking and dragon. Just then Toothless came up to him, and looked at him with his huge green eyes. He crooned and looked down at Hiccup's metal leg. Hiccup knew what he wanted.

"Oh all right," he said, removing his leg. "You do know it's not a chew toy doin't you?" He waved the leg in Toothless's face. The dragon go all excited, wagging his tail like a puppy. Then Hiccup threw the leg over the cliff. Toothless took off after it. While he was gone, Hiccup pulled out is map. He unfolded it and laid it out on the ground. He looked at all the places he'd been. His leg landed in front of him. He looked up to see Toothless hovering above him, riding an updraft.

"Getting pretty good at gliding on your own bud," he said. Toothless landed and pushed the leg at him. Hiccup threw it again and Toothless took off after it. The noise roused Avalon. She sat up and yawned. Then Stormfly glided smoothly over the cliff. She squawked proudly, then landed.

"Ah so this is where you've come to get away from Gobber," said Astrid, as she dismounted.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," said Hiccup. Toothless came back with the leg, and handed it to Astrid. She gagged and tossed it over her shoulder. Both Toothelss and Stormfly charged after it.

"He's right you know," Astrid said, sitting beside Hiccup.

"Really?" Hiccup said, surprised. "You think you and I...?"

"Oh gods no," said Astrid, getting what Hiccup was talking about. "We're no where near ready for that. I'm talking about all of this." She gestured to the village.

"Yeah it seems the whole world knows about us now," said Hiccup.

"And the more dragons we bring back, the more of a target we become," said Astrid. The leg landed next to her, and she threw it again. "I wish there was some way to make them leave us alone." Hiccup thought a moment, then his gaze rested on Avalon who was grooming herself.

"There might be," he said. "Hey Avalon."

"Yes Hiccup," said Avalon, looking at him.

"Do you know anything about the Hidden World?" Hiccup asked her. Avalon looked confused.

"I don't think so," she said. "Why?"

"My father told me about it," said Hiccup. "He described it as a great waterfall, beyond the edge of the world." Avalon's eyes went wide, and she beamed.

"Oooh that," she said casually. "Yes I know about that. My mother told us about a great waterfall too. She said it marks the entrance to what we dragons call; Draco's Nest. It's where the first dragons hatched, billions of years ago. However I have no idea where it is, nor have I met anyone who's been there."

"It could be the solution we need," said Hiccup.

"Wait, what?" Avalon asked, confused again.

"How?" Astrid asked. "By moving the dragons there?"

"No, all of us," Hiccup clarified.

"And abandon our home of seven generations?" Astrid asked. "The home you're father left you to protect. Yeah I think we need a real plan Hiccup." Hiccup sighed in defeat.

"We could just take Gobber's advice and tie the knot," he said. "But if you're having doubts about yours truly, I'm sure Snotlout's still available." Avalon watched them from her bed of ferns, as well as their two dragons who were fighting over the leg. Toothless picked the leg up and brought it back to Hiccup. Suddenly he heard a very faint call from the forest. He spun around and he heard the call again. Curious, he ran off and glided down from the cliff. The others, including Avalon, looked after him. Astrid got on Stormfly, and Hiccup got on Avalon, and they followed him.

Toothless wondered through the darkening woods. He sniffed the air, and caught an unfamiliar scent. He followed it deeper into the woods. The light was fading, so he could stay hidden. The scent led him to a meadow. Toothless spotted something white in the middle of the meadow. At first he thought it was a patch of snow. But as he got closer, he could hear it breathing. Then it moved, and he realized it was a dragon. It let out a low moan, like it was just waking up. Toothless got a little closer. The dragon must have heard him, because it turned around. Toothless was completely awestruck. She was the most beautiful creature he'd ever seen. Her white scales glittered liked diamonds in the moonlight, her eyes were the color of the sky. Toothless walked a little closer to her, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open. The female suddenly spun around fully.

"Stop, don't step there," she said. Toothless paused and backed a bit, his eyes still on her. Except for her white scales, she looked like him. She had the same light blue on her chest and on the edge of her wings and fins. She didn't have spikes like he did, just a ridge down her back. Her tail ended in a pair of heart shaped fins. Her scales were so tiny she almost looked scales. Her head and her ears were rounder too. She looked young, about Avalon's age. She sone brightly like she'd been sculpted from the light of heaven. She glared at him.

"Who are you?" She demanded with a cat-like snarl.

"I'm so sorry miss, I didn't mean to startle you," Toothless said, when he found his voice again. "My name's Toothless." The white dragon eased up a bit, and quietly approached him. She was just as awestruck as he was. This male was so black, he was almost invisible in the darkness. His eyes were so big, and so green, she was slowly getting lost in them.

"What's your name again?" She asked.

"Toothless," Toothless said. "What's yours."

"Moon," said the white dragon. "My name's Moon." Suddenly she heard the snapping of twigs behind Toothless. She growled and shot a pink plasma blast at the trees, making them explode. Toothless spun around in time to see Hiccup and Astrid come out from behind the trees. Of course they too were surprised to see this white dragon. Hiccup was so stunned, he didn't hear her catlike growls. Astrid quickly pulled him out of the way as the dragon fired again. Toothless put himself between Hiccup and Moon.

"Wait stop, they're friends," he said. Moon looked at him, afraid. Suddenly she turned and flew off with a frightened squeal. Toothtless ran after her. He climbed up a tall pine tree. He saw Moon fire another plasma blast, fly into it, and vanish. Toothless stood there amazed, and a bit disappointed.

Hiccup looked up at the sky where the white dragon had vanished.

"Another Night Fury," said Astrid.

"No not quite," said Hiccup. "It's more like a bright..."

"A Light Fury," Astrid said.

"Yeah, yours is better," Hiccup said. Avalon jumped down from a tree she was hiding in and looked up at Toothless as he sadly came down to the ground. She went up to him.

"Who was that Toothless?" She asked.

"She said her name was Moon," Toothless said. "Such a beautiful name." They walked back to the two riders. They started walking back towards the village. "She's long gone."

"She'll come back," Avalon assured him. "I saw in her mind. You've caught her attention."

"You sure?" Toothless asked. Avalon nodded, and he seemed to cheer up.

They made it back to the cliff. The other Draconians were still asleep, huddled in the ferns. Hiccup, Astrid, and their dragons headed for the village, Toothless bouncing excitedly the whole way. Avalon went over to her friends, laid down between Eider and Apollo, and feel asleep.

Edelweiss had nightmares that night. About getting thrown into a cell by vikings who taunted her and abused her. Then about being stalked in the woods by something big and dark. Whatever it was pounced on her and pinned her down, growling. Then pulled her into the air, high above a sea of lava, and dropped her into it. It was enough to wake her up. She sat up panting and shaking. It was still dark, but dawn was approaching. Edelweiss looked around. Her friends were still asleep. She looked into the dark forest, expecting the black shape to come out of it. Suddenly something did move out of it, something big and back. Edelweiss started panicking and shaking again. She rolled into a ball as it got closer, and closed her eyes. She heard the something stop in front of her, then she felt a scaly muzzle on her arm. She shrieked and hugged herself tighter.

"Edel, it's just me," came Toothless's voice. Edelweiss sat up, and it was indeed Toothless. She relaxed and released a breath she'd been holding.

"Oh thank Draco for that," she said.

"You okay?" Toothless asked her. Edelweiss took several deep breaths.

"Scary dream, can't sleep," she said. "Why are you out here?" Toothless sat on his haunches.

"I can't sleep either," he said. "I can't stop thinking about the Light Fury I met last night." Edelweiss looked at him curiously.

"Light Fury?" She said.

"Yes, a beautiful white dragon," Toothless said. "I was hoping to find her again, just to make sure she was real. But I have had no luck."

"Wow," said Edelweiss. "What's her name?"

"Moon," said Toothless. Then he cleared his throat. "Well, I should go make sure Hiccup's awake. You going to be okay now?"

"I think so," said Edelweiss. "This isn't the first time I've had nightmares about being locked up." She laid back down next to Black Widow and closed her eyes. Toothless nuzzled her cheek, then he walked off.

Later that day the riders, their dragons, and the Draconians were gathered in the hanger. Edelweiss helped Hiccup with a Gronckle that had a few thorns in his foot. Hiccup was telling the others about the Light Fury. Fishlegs was excited as always about the discovery of a new dragon. He was already working on a stat card for the Light Fury. Hiccup told them what he'd seen, ending the the Light Fury vanishing.

"What do you mean gone?" Snotlout asked.

"Vanished, into thin air," said Hiccup. Just then Fishlegs showed him the stat card.

"What do you think? He asked.

"Stubbier ears, no dorsal plates," Hiccup said handing the card back. Fishlegs left to fix it. Toothless bouncing all over the place, panting like a dog. He bumped into Hiccup. Edelweiss giggled as she pulled the thorns out of the Gronckles foot.

"What's gotten into you?" Hiccup asked Toothless. "What's with all the slobbering and panting."

"Isn't it obvious, he's in love," said Astrid, walking by with a basket of apples. Hiccup leaned closer to Toothless.

"Trust me relationships are nothing but pain and misery," he said.

"Don't listen to him," Edelweiss said. "My parents have been in a relationship for years, and they've never been happier."

"Same with our parents," said Black Widow, looking at Eclipse. "If it worked for them, it'll work for you." Toothless beamed and walked off, slightly aways from the group. He suddenly spotted a pair of Nadders courting. He sat down and watched them. He suddenly realized he had no idea how Night Furies courted, he'd never seen it done in his life. He figured he could do it the Nadder's way, it seemed to work. He went over to a wall, where he could see his shadow, and he practiced. He couldn't do it quite the same, since he was on four legs instead of two. The others watched him.

"Aww, that's kind of cute," Edelweiss said, pulling the last thorn. However she seemed to be the only one who thought so.

"That's just sad," said Tuffnut.

"Seriously, I'd rather shovel poop all day then watch that," said Snotlout. Hiccup sighed and got to his feet.

"All right let's see if we can find her," he said. Toothless heard this and got more excited. He bounded back over to Hiccup. He looked over at Edelweiss.

"Hey Edel, do you think you and Black Widow can fly overhead in case you see Moon flying back?" He asked.

"Sure," said Black Widow, getting to her feet. Edelweiss got up and mounted her. Hiccup and Tuffnut walked off, and Toothless followed. Black Widow took off and flew out of the hanger.

They flew over the forest. Hiccup, Tuffnut, and Toothless walked below. They were all keeping an eye out for the Light Fury. Black Widow kept them in her sights. They didn't see any sign of the white dragon. They soon came to the meadow where's Toothless first saw her. Toothless walked around the outside of it, smelling the place. Black Widow circled overhead. Hiccup was looking in the middle of the meadow, he noticed that Toothless didn't walk across it, just around. He looked at the ground, and spotted something shining in the light. He went over and picked it up, it was a metal dart. It was no bigger than a human finger, and was hallow with a few drops of purple fluid inside it. He looked back up at his dragon, who was turning around to head back to them.

"Toothless!" He shouted. Toothless jumped, startled, but didn't move. Hiccup grabbed a stick Tuffnut was holding, and threw it into the middle of the meadow. It caught on something, and suddenly a huge dragon trap snapped shut like a the world's biggest Venus flytrap. Toothless was stunned, and kind of scared. Was this what Moon had been warning him about last night? Had she known it was there? At that moment Black Widow landed.

"Wow, that's a big dragon trap," Edelweiss said.

"What's it doing here?" Black Widow asked.

"I don't know," said Hiccup, looking down at the small dart. "We should get back to the village." Hiccup and Tuffnut got on Toothless who was trembling slightly. They took off and headed back to the village.

Back at the village, Avalon and the rest of the Draconians were lounging about. Avalon went over to a nearby feeding station. There wasn't a lot of prey on the island, so the Draconians couldn't hunt. Avalon nosed through the large piles of fish. She picked out the ones that smelled the freshest. Cloudjumper came up beside her.

"Hello Princess, how are you guys doing?" He asked.

"Well, we're having trouble adjusting," said Avalon. "Prey is so scarce, that we can't hunt."

"Don't worry, you're not the first dragons who've had trouble adjusting," said Cloudjumper. "Life here does take some getting used to." He picked out a large tuna and set it down in front of her. Avalon took the tuna gratefully. She went back to her friends, who were near the forge with the riders' dragons. Avalon shared the tuna with her friends.

Hiccup soon returned with Tuffnut, Toothless, and the last two Draconians. Edelweiss dismounted as they neared the forge. Hiccup put the dart on the counter.

"Someone's here," he said. Gobber turned around from what he was doing. "He managed to slip passed our scouts and lay a trap in the woods."

"It ruined boy talk," said Tuffnut. He picked up the dart and chucked it over his shoulder. It hit a box that Eret was carrying into the forge, it startled him.

"Lets get a search party on the ground, scouts in the air," Hiccup said. "Toothless and I will fly the coastline." Eret put down his load and inspected the dart.

"Yeah, I wouldn't advise taking Toothless anywhere Chief," he said. "I know this handy work; Grimmel the Grizzly. Famous back where I've from. Smartest dragon trapper I ever met, well except for me of course."

"He can't be that smart, he left his trap unmanned," said Hiccup. Eret chuckled.

"Nothing's accidental when it comes to old Grimmel," he said. "He lives for the thrill of the hunt. To get inside the mind of his prey, to control its every choice."

"Well he doesn't know who he's dealing with," said Astrid.

"Yeah, we've dealt with this kind before," said Hiccup.

"Don't underestimate him Hiccup," Eret warned. "He'll be back."

"Then we'll be waiting for him," Hiccup said. Eret turned to Edelweiss who was standing near the counter, her dragons stayed outside with Toothless.

"Edelweiss," Eret said.

"Yes sir?" Edelweiss answered.

"I have a job for you and your friends," Eret said. Edelweiss joined the group.

Later that night, Hiccup was in his house looking through Stoic's old books. He pulled out a few, that he hoped would have information about the Hidden World. He glanced at the large dragon-shaped lump in the corner sleeping peacefully. Hiccup went over to the table with the books and scanned them. However, the books didn't have the information he was looking for. He made a mental note to ask Avalon in the morning. Suddenly he heard footsteps behind him. Hiccup quickly grabbed Inferno. He turned around when he heard the sound of liquid being poured into a cup. Sitting in the shadows was a tale, very pale man in dark clothes. Hiccup guessed that this was Grimmel the Grizzly.

"Oh I hope you don't mind," Grimmel said casually, sipping his drink. Hiccup ignited Inferno, Grimmel didn't even look at it. "That is impressive, but let me finish my drink." Suddenly he whipped out a tiny crossbow and fired a dart at the sleeping dragon, who slumped onto his side.

"Toothless!" Hiccup panicked. He ran over to him as Grimmel finished his drink. "What did you do to him?"

"Nothing that he won't sleep off," Grimmel said, loading another dart into the crossbow. He sat down in Stoic's chair. "May I?" He sneered cooly. "Chief Hiccup, hmm? Do I say Chief Hic-cup." (makes hiccuping sound) "or do I just call you Hiccup? What do you prefer?" Hiccup said nothing, and just glared.

"You have no idea who I am do you?" Grimmel continued. "Well you're father knew of me. Now there was a chief. On of the greatest dragon hunters who ever lived. What would he think of you? He had it right you know, making it his mission to destroy the beast so you could grow up in a better world."

"He changed his mind," Hiccup said sternly.

"And look where that got him," said Grimmel darkly. "So let's get to the point. I am the Night Fury killer. I've hunted and killed every one except yours." Hiccup gasped at this. "You are going to give me that dragon."

"I will never give him up," Hiccup said boldly. Grimmel laughed and got to his feet.

"You wish dragons to live free, among us like equals," he said, striding over to Toothless. "A toxic notion my boy. History has shown that we are the superior species. What if word of your misguided ideas were to spread? It would be the undoing of civilization as we...know it." He paused having noticed that the dragon's tail looked kind of fake. He nudged it with is foot. Fishlegs sat up, and shook off his Toothless disguise.

"Did we get him?" Fishlegs asked groggily, before passing out. Hiccup quickly used Inferno to pull the crossbow out of Grimmel's hand.

"Now," he ordered. The other riders, Gobber, and Valka came out of their hiding places and surrounded the enemy.

"Sorry to barge in," said Gobber.

"You think you can come into my home, sit in my father's chair, and threaten my dragon," Hiccup said. "This Berk, and we have defended our way of life from far worse than you." Grimmel laughed again.

"A fighting spirit I love it," he said. "Only, I'm afraid you're mistaken. You've never seen anything like me." He whistled, and suddenly the hole roof burst into flames. Six dark dragons crashed through the fire and attacked the riders. They fired an acid that turned to fire when it hit something. They used that, as well as stingers in their tails. The riders were outmatched and could barely hold their own. They dodged all the attacks from the dragons, but soon found themselves surrounded by fire.

"Have my dragon ready when I return," Grimmel said. "Or I will destroy everything you love." He then ducked away, leaving the riders to deal with the burning house.

Deep in the woods Toothless and the Draconians were wondering through the darkness, looking for the Light Fury again. The Draconians were keeping Toothless away from the village, so Grimmel didn't find him. Toothless sighed sadly.

"I'm starting to wonder if I'd just imagined a dragon that beautiful," he said.

"No, she was real," said Avalon.

"She's probably just keeping her distance from the humans," said Apollo. "We'll find her, or maybe she'll find us." Suddenly Black Widow sniffed the air.

"Guys, does anyone else smell smoke?" She asked. The other dragons sniffed the air as well. Avalon looked worried.

"It's coming from the village," she said. Toothless looked in the direction of the village.

"Hiccup!" He cried. He quickly boosted Edelweiss onto his back and took off. Edelweiss was quick to put her foot in the stirrup and opened his tail. The Draconians followed him.

Meanwhile the rest of the village had also been alerted to the fire. They all came out of their houses and gathered in the plaza. Hiccup ordered a meeting in the great hall, once the fire had been put out. Toothless and the Draconians landed in the plaza. Hiccup looked very happy to see them.

"Hiccup, what happened?" Avalon asked.

"Grimmel showed up," Hiccup said. "We weren't as prepared for him as we'd thought. We're gathering in the great hall. Avalon, you should attend. I think you might have some answers." Avalon looked at him, shocked.

"Oh, all right," she said. Toothless sniffed his rider for injuries. Hiccup petted him.

"I'm fine Bud," he said. "We're all okay." Edelweiss got off him. Avalon looked at her group.

"Wait here for me," she said. They nodded in agreement. Avalon and Toothless followed Hiccup and the vikings into the great hall.

Everyone was talking loudly. Hiccup and his riders sat at the head table, Toothless and Avalon behind them. Everyone seemed riled up by the attack.

"All right, settle down," Hiccup said loudly, the room quieted slightly. "Fishlegs have you ever seen that species of dragons before?" Fishlegs sat up to speak, but was still woozy from the dart. He keeled over, and passed out again.

"They're called Deathgrippers," Avalon said, seeing images of the dragons in Hiccup's head. "Very lethal pack hunters. They're related to both Rumblehorns and Triple Strykes. They carry a nasty venom that, in small dosages, numbs the brain and makes it unable to function temporarily. But get injected with enough of it, and it kills." The vikings got riled up again.

"I'll give him a piece of my mine!" A viking yelled angrily. "And by mind I mean fist." He punched the guys next to him. Avalon giggled.

"Did you miss that part where we almost died?" Hiccup shouted. "Have you seen my house? This is a new kind of enemy and I underestimated him. Now, that's on me. But I won't do that again."

"We're vikings, we don't run from a fight," said Snotlout. "At least I don't. You might." He pointed at Eret.

"I agree with Hiccup," Eret said, ignoring Snotlout. "We haven't seen the last of Grimmel. He's a predator. Single-minded and patient. He won't stop until he gets wants."

"I'm with Eret," agreed Valka. "We have to take this threat seriously."

"Grimmel is just a sign of the times," Hiccup continued. "Our enemies are getting smarter, more determined. We're not just over crowded. We'er exposed, and vunrable. Short of full-blown war and risking everyone we love. I don't..." He paused and took a deep breath, leaning on the table. "I don't see a way of staying here any longer." This got a big reaction from the crowd. They argued loudly, until Astrid slammed the blade of her ax into the table with a loud thud.

"Hey!" She shouted. "Hear him out." The crowd quieted again. Astrid nodded at Hiccup for him to continue. He smiled at her gratefully.

"If we want to live in peace with our dragons, we need a better plan," Hiccup said.

"So what are you saying Chief?" Gobber asked.

"I'm saying we need to disappear," Hiccup said. "Completely off the map. Take the dragons to a place where no one will find them."

"And where might that be?" Asked a viking.

"He's talking about a quest for the Hidden World," Astrid clarified. Avalon exchanged a look with Toothless.

"My father was obsessed with it when I was a boy," Hiccup said. "He made notes and maps in search of the ancestral home home of all dragons. Tucked away somewhere beyond the edge of the world. It may be the solution we need." They all looked at each other, hesitantly. Hiccup looked over at Avalon. "Avalon, how much do you know about this place." Avalon took a deep breath, all eyes were on her.

"I can tell you the bedtime story my mother told us," she said. "But I'm afraid it won't help you find it." She cleared her throat. "The Hidden World, or Draco's Nest as we Draconians call it, was created by Draco billions of years ago. Once it was finished, he used his power to fill it with millions of dragon eggs. Eventually the first dragons hatched out, and grew up in the nest. They soon grew mature enough to leave it, and explore the outside world. Some soon returned to the nest to lay their own eggs, some created their own nests for their eggs. Mother said the entrance to the Nest is marked by a great waterfall. And there's a special plant or fungus that gave the first dragons their fire."

"But you've never seen this place," said a random viking.

"No," Avalon admitted. "But I have faith in its existence. It's the oldest and the safest of the dragon kingdoms. It's safe from any invader, any natural disaster. However no, I've never been there nor have met anyone who's been there." The vikings looked at Hiccup doubtfully.

"We're dragon people," Hiccup said. "It's where we belong. Look, I know this is our home. My father left me to protect it. But Berk is more than this place. We are Berk! The people! The dragons! I say Berk is wherever we go." A small silence followed this.

"I'm with him, who else!?" Tuffnut roared. That somehow got the rest of the vikings to agree. Avalon looked excited, looking at Hiccup.

"He's starting to sound like my human brother," she said.

"In a good way right?" Toothless asked. Avalon smiled and nodded.

Outside the other dragons were eating to sleeping respectively. The Draconians were gathered on the roof of a building. They waited for the villagers to come back out. They were quiet for a bit.

"Hey Eider," Eclipse said.

"Yeah?" Eider answered.

"Did your parents ever follow an alpha?" Eclipse asked. Eider looked at her, surprised by the question.

"Not really," he said. "Except for Lord Draco, they were pretty much their own alpha."

"You guys must have had a great time traveling the world, living in different places," Eclipse said. Eider smiled dreamily.

"It was wonderful," he said. "I had so much freedom."

"So why don't you live that life anymore?" Eclipse asked. "If it was so wonderful."

"It just wouldn't be the same without my parents," Eider said with a sad sigh. "Also I'm perfectly happy with you guys. Being here with Avalon, it helps the burden of loosing my parents easier to bear." Eclipse looked at him sympathetically.

"I can understand that," she said. Just then the big doors opened and everyone came out of the great hall, Avalon and Toothless at the head of the crowd. Avalon's friends and Toothless's friends glided down from their roosts.

"Guys we're leaving Berk tonight," Hiccup said. "Before Grimmel comes back."

"We're going to find Draco's Nest," said Avalon. The dragons and Edelweiss looked surprised.

"Draco's Nest, really?" Black Widow asked.

"Yes," said Avalon. "We should help these guys load up their gear. So we can get out of here, before Grimmel comes back."

"What if we don't find it?" Edelweiss asked, as they joined the Berkians. "It could be clear across the world for all we know."

"Well we still need to get out of here," said Avalon. "And I'm sure we'll find it someday." The Draconians and Berkians loaded up the ships with everything they'd need, knowing they'd probably never come back to this island. So they took their building materials, their livestock, and any valuables onto the ships, which were then hitched up to the largest dragons. The riders mounted their dragons, Edelweiss mounted Apollo, and they took off, leaving the Isle of Berk far behind.


	3. Furies in Love

Chapter 3

Hiccup lead the convoy west. They flew for hours. The Draconians kept to their formation, and stayed at the front of the convoy where they felt most comfortable. They sang songs happily to while the the hours. Edelwiess at some of the food she'd brought from home.

The sun soon came up, and they still saw no land nor anything that looked like the entrance to the Hidden World. Avalon steered her formation a bit closer to the convoy, but still stayed in the front of it. They were almost knocked out of the sky by Fishlegs and Meatlug, who flew by. Fishlegs was trying to keep a handle on a very excited Fishmeat. Avalon and her friends pulled along side Toothless, and out of the way. Gobber came up on Toothless's other side.

"I feel like I'm always asking this," he said. Suddenly Grump fell asleep and fell a few feet before Gobber woke him up, and steered him back into place. "Is there an actual plan?"

"Just keep flying until we reach the edge of the world," said Hiccup, looking through his spyglass.

"Ah, seems sensible," said Gobber. They kept on going.

Several hours later, they still saw nothing but ocean. They were all starting to get bored, except the Draconian, who were still singing. They had no shortage of travel songs. Snotlout leaned back in his saddle.

"Ugh, it just keeps going," he complained.

"That's because the world is actually round," said Tuffnut. Hiccup just rolled his eyes. "The sun is round. The moon is round." They all laughed at this.

"Flatheads," Apollo muttered quietly in dragontongue. They kept going. Toothless sniffed the air, and he caught a familiar scent. His ears perked up in excitement. Hiccup was quick to notice. Apollo suddenly sensed something flying near their formation. And a moment later, the Light Fury materialized right by them. Toothless roared in excitement.

"The Light Fury!" Astrid cried.

"She's following us!" Valka said. They all watched the Light Fury fly among the clouds.

"Well, more like she's following him," Avalon said, gesturing to Toothless. The Light Fury fired a pink plasma blast, and vanished again.

"Wow, she is pretty," said Edelwiess.

"Where'd she go?" Tuffnut asked. "Is she made of sky." Toothless flew up higher, hoping to spot her again. He hovered above the clouds, looking in all directions. Hiccup suddenly heard something flying fast towards his back. He spun around in time to see the Light Fury speeding towards him.

"Well look who it is," he said. But then the Light Fury grabbed him in her tiny paws, and flew off with him. Then she simply threw him away, watching him drop like a stone. She turned to Toothless.

"Look I got him," she said happily. Toothless gave her a gummy grin.

"Yes you did," he said. "Excuse me please." And he dove after his rider. The Light Fury watched him stunned and confused. Toothless managed to catch his rider, and they flew back to the front of the convoy, Hiccup looked humiliated.

"Not a word," he grumbled. The Draconians couldn't help but giggle.

"I like her," said Avalon cheerfully. Toothless looked back up at the clouds, but the Light Fury had vanished again. He crooned sadly.

They flew onward in silence. The Light Fury didn't show herself again. The sun was starting to set. Hiccup knew they'd have to stop soon. It was clear they weren't going to find the Hidden World today. He looked around for a place to land. The sunlight was suddenly blocked by a huge, black shape on the horizon. At first Hiccup didn't know what it was, but the he realized it was an island. A huge, tall, island. It was so big it took up the whole horizon. The vikings and dragons stared in awe at it. They flew up to the top of it. The island was at least ten times the size of Berk. They flew over the cliffs, that had numerous pools which flowed through each other. There were tall peaks, and lots of trees, rocks, and grass. There was more than enough room for all the dragons. They soon landed on a grassy cliff, surrounded by tall pine trees. Everyone sighed with relief. They were all worn out from flying all day. Hiccup dismounted.

"All right, looks like we're making camp here for the night," he said.

"Well thank Thor for that," said Gobber. The Draconians landed and Edelweiss dismounted. The vikings started to make themselves at home.

"This place is incredible," said Black Widow. "And so comfortable." It sounded like the vikings were already talking about building new houses.

"Okay, I said make camp," Hiccup clarified. "Not build a new village."

"Who died to to make you chief?" Snotlout taunted. Everyone groaned, and the village elder whacked Snotlout in the head.

"Granted this place is very nice," Hiccup said. "But it's not the Hidden World."

"We don't even know if this Hidden World exists," said a viking. "The dragon princess was just telling a bedtime story."

"Yeah," agreed another viking. "This place is real." Valka came up beside Hiccup.

"There's nothing more stubborn then a mob of tired, hungry vikings," she said, laughing. Hiccup sighed.

"Well, I guess this could work as a base in the meantime," he said. "It's defensible, hidden." Then he spoke to the crowd again. "All right, you can stay."

"Say hello to New Berk," Gobber declared. Everyone cheered. "Let's get building." But Hiccup wasn't done talking.

"Until Toothless and I find the Hidden World," he said. Everyone walked off, feeling discouraged.

"If you're going to continue west, Is should head back to make sure we weren't followed," said Valka.

"Okay," Hiccup said. "Just be careful." Valka looked at him. She opened her mouth to speak, but hesitated. "What?"

"This plan," Valka said cautiously. "To hide us from the rest of the world. Though I wish it were possible. I fear it can't last Hiccup. And you know I tried to do the same for years, Chis and Windwalker tried as well. But greedy humans always find a way." She stopped again, placing a hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "I just...I only ask that you think about it." With that she left. Hiccup looked over at Astrid who was unloading her saddlebags.

"Do you still think I'm crazy?" He asked her.

"Let's just say, this whole idea is very...you," said Astrid.

"Well, thanks for supporting me last night," Hiccup said humbly. "I meant a lot." Astrid walked over to him.

"Don't thank me yet," she said. "I just hope you're right about this." She handed him one of Stoic's journals, and walked off. Avalon turned to her group.

"Lets go explore this place," she suggested.

"Okay, I wonder what there is to hunt around here," said Apollo. Edelweiss mounted Black Widow and they took off again.

They flew over the island. They watched the ground bellow. There were trees, cliffs, rivers, lakes, and waterfalls. It had a lot of similarities to Berk. It had the same climate, some of the same plants. The group flew low over the tree tops.

"I like this place," said Eider. "It's doesn't feel as small or cramped as Berk."

"I'm sure Berk was like this too once upon a time," said Avalon. "But I agree it is very lovely, and so green." She looked at all the big trees.

"Guys, look," said Edelweiss suddenly. She pointed to the sandy bank of a wide river. They all looked, and saw the Light Fury. She was drinking water from the river. She didn't seem to notice the group above her. They slowed down.

"Should we go say hello?" Black Widow asked. Avalon considered.

"I think so," she said. "She seems friendly, just a bit shy." So they circled around and calmly landed on the river bank. The Light Fury glanced up, curious. She recognized the group of dragons from the convoy.

"Hello neighbor," said Avalon.

"Hello," the Light Fury said. "I saw you with that big convoy. You're alpha is quite handsome."

"My friends an I come from Draconia," Avalon clarified. "Toothless is our ally, and a close family friend."

"Oh Draconia? Really?" The Light Fury asked. "What are your names?"

"I'm Princess Avalon," said Avalon. "These are my friends." She looked at her friends, indicating they should introduce themselves.

"I'm her brother Apollo," said Apollo.

"I'm Eclipse," said Eclipse.

"I'm Eider," said Eider.

"I'm Black Widow, Eclipse's older sister," said Black Widow. "We're Night Fury hybrids."

"And I'm Edelweiss Dragonborn," said Edelweis. The Light Fury looked at her, curiously.

"You're the dragonborn?" She asked. "I've heard other dragons talking about you." She looked at the other dragons. "It's very nice to meet you all. My name's Moon."

"Moon, lovely name," said Black Widow. "You do seem to phase in and out of existence like the moon does." Moon giggled.

"A little trick we were given by the Dragon God himself," she said. "It helps us hide from danger." She sat on her haunches. "You seemed to have a lot of humans in that convoy."

"Yes, but those humans are among the few that have made friends with our kind," Avalon said. "They won't hurt you."

"Still, I don't really want a bunch of humans gawking at me," Moon said.

"I don't blame you," said Avalon. "They do get pretty excited about meeting new dragons." Apollo looked out at the river, and licked his chops.

"I wonder if there's fish in that river," he said. The others followed his gaze.

"I haven't checked yet," Moon said. Avalon looked out at the river. She was feeling hungry too.

"We'll go see if there's fish in there," she said. "You want to join us Moon?"

"No thanks," Moon said. "I ate on the way here." Avalon clicked her talons and all the armor and saddles disappeared. The Draconians dove into the water, looking for food. Edelweiss stayed on the land, and sat on a rock to wait and watch. Moon came up beside her. Edelweiss was cautious to talk to her. She didn't want the humans to find out, and get so jealous that they threw her out. Moon must have sensed her discomfort.

"Are you okay?" She asked. Edelweiss glanced around to make sure non of the vikings were walking by.

"I think I'll be fine," she answered quickly. She didn't speak again. Moon noticed she looked really nervous and was trembling. She was clutching her wrists, and looked everywhere except at Moon. It seemed as though Edelweiss was scared to talk to Moon. Avalon came out, and shook the water off her scales. She came over to them.

"Everything going okay?" She asked.

"I don't know," Moon said. "It seems this one's not too keen on talking to me."

"Oh boy," Avalon sighed, looking a bit frustrated. "She never really got over the one time the humans put us all in cages. We were young and reckless at the time, and we got into a lot of trouble. The humans locked us up when we kept bothering their farm animals. Since then, Edelweiss has trouble trusting humans. And they have gotten a bit jealous when she talks to a dragon, and makes friends with them when the humans can't even get close." She looked up at Edelweiss. "Edel, you're fine. No one's going to hurt you for talking to a wild dragon." She noticed Edelweiss clutching her writs, and staring blankly at nothing. Avalon went over and wormed her snout under Edel's hands, to make her stop.

"Please calm down," Avalon almost begged. "It's really hard for us to see you like this." She pulled Edelweiss closer to her with her wing, and breathed out a calming spell that stopped Edelweiss from trembling. Edelweiss relaxed and hugged Avalon back.

"I'm sorry," she said with a shaky voice. Avalon drew back slightly, but kept her wing around Edelweiss's shoulders. Moon cautiously walked a bit closer.

"So," she said. "You think we can be friends? Since you're good friends with this Toothless fellow." Avalon looked at Edelweiss again.

"What do you think Edel?" She asked.

"I...I'd like that," Edelweiss said. The rest of the group came out of the water, and shook the water off their scales.

"You guys okay? What happened?" Eclipse asked.

"It's fine guys," said Avalon. "I got it covered." She glanced up at the sky which was growing steadily darker. "We should get back to camp."

"Did you find fish?" Moon asked.

"Oh yeah," said Eider. "Lots of fish, and some newts."

"You going to be okay out here?" Avalon asked Moon.

"I'll be fine, I've been on my own pretty much my whole life," Moon said. Edelweiss mounted Black Widow again."

"We'll see you later then," said Avalon. Moon nodded and smiled.

"I hope you fell better Edel," she said.

"Thanks," Edelweiss said, smiling at her. The group took off and headed back to the campsite.

The sun was setting when they got back. Edelweiss seemed at ease again. The vikings had put up their tents. The dragons were finding soft patches of grass to sleep on. Avalon and her friends went over to where Hiccup was putting up his tent. Toothless was laying nearby, staring off into space.

"Hey Hiccup," Avalon said. Hiccup glanced up.

"Hey guys were'd you go?" He asked.

"Exploring," said Apollo. "This place is so big. We found a large river, full of fish."

"Oh that's great," Hiccup said. "Well, I'm calling it a night. See you tomorrow." He went inside his tent with Toothless. Avalon went to a patch of grass near the front of the tent. She used her magic to creat a thick bed of moss and ferns that was big enough for her whole group. They curled up in their usual huddle. Avalon curled up next to Eider at the edge of the huddle. They fell asleep a few minuets later.

Edelweiss had another nightmare. She was locked in a cage that was too small for her. The bars dug into her painfully. She was trapped in complete darkness. She suddenly felt someone grab her wrists and put rough shackles on them. The shackles instantly began rubbing and cutting her skin. She cried out in pain. She tried to break free, but that just made the shackles tighter and more painful. She suddenly heard something walking around her cage. She shuttered, and cried out when it made the shackles squeeze tighter. The thing walked closer, and she cried out in pure terror. She shut her eyes. When she opened them again, she was surrounded by her friends who were sound asleep. The bars that were pressing against her back, turned out to be Black Widow's wing and legs. Edelweiss looked at her wrists, there were no cuts or bruises. They were just fine. But she could still hear something walking around. Scared she laid back down and covered herself with Black Widow's wing.

Moon walked around the human settlement. She tread lightly so she didn't wake the humans. She was invisible again. She walked around like a ghost, looking for Toothless. She walked passed where Avalon and her friends were sound asleep. She carefully walked around them, her tail slithering through the ferns they were sleeping on.

Inside the tent, Toothless was sleeping on the enormous bed with Hiccup next to him. His sensitive ears picked up movement outside. Instantly he sat up and sniffed the air, not even noticing that he'd shoved Hiccup off the bed. Instantly Toothless caught Moon's scent. He went outside, still sniffing the air. He didn't see Moon, just the huddle of dragons on the bed of ferns. Avalon yawned and stretched, then rolled over without waking up. Toothless suddenly heard movement behind him. He turned and Moon materialized, with a cautious look in her eyes. Toothless beamed.

"You're here," he said loudly. "Oh it's so good to see you here."

"Quiet," Moon hissed. "Do you want to wake everyone up." Toothless instantly shut his mouth. Moon stood up and smiled at him. "That's better." She gave him a playfull smile, then turned and walked off. Toothless followed her the best he could, but she was really sneaky. He rounded a corner, just in time to see her tail slither out of sight. He followed her, keeping his head down. He suddenly caught her keeping pace with him on the other side of the tents and other human gear.

"So, you're the alpha," she said.

"I am indeed," Toothless said. Suddenly he hit his head on a barrel. He heard her giggling. He looked under a cart, and saw her looking back at him.

"Peekaboo," she said, fluttering her eyes at him.

"And same to you," Toothless said, a bit awkwardly. She laughed.

"Oh, you're so adorable," she said. "Catch me if you can." She took off, flying away from the campsite. Toothless ran after her.

Hiccup had woken up to find his dragon missing. He got up and went outside, yawning. He didn't see Toothelss anywhere. The Draconians caught his eye.

"Hey Avalon!" He whispered loudly. Avalon stirred with an annoyed groan.

"What?" She asked, looking at him.

"Toothless is gone, did you see where he went?" Hiccup asked.

"No," Avalon said grouchily. She stared straight ahead for a moment. "He's following Moon, she came looking for him."

"Can you help me track him down?" Hiccup asked. Avalon sighed and got to her feet. She stretched her wings and shook herself. She stood still and allowed Hiccup to mount her. She turned and walked off.

Toothless ran through the woods, following Moon. She kept looking down at him, making sure he didn't get lost. Soon the reached the river Moon had met Avalon and her friends. Moon glided down and landed smoothly on the sand. She folded her wings, and looked over at the tree line. Toothless stood there, trying to look impressive. He proudly stepped onto the sand. The sand shifted, sending him tumbling down the hill towards the water. Moon jumped out of the way, before he could barrel into her. He finally came to a stop right at the water's edge. He jumped to his feet and turned to face Moon. She looked at him.

"You okay?" She asked.

"Yeah, I meant to do that," Toothless said, embarrassed.

"That's what they all say," Moon said, with a laugh. Then she flared her wings and pranced gracefully in a circle, waving her tail back and forth. When she was finished, she sat down.

"Well?" She said. Toothless looked at her. He had no idea what to do. He suddenly spotted Hiccup hiding in the shrubs, and Avalon perched on a tree branch just above him. She looked pretty moody. Hiccup made eye contact with Toothless. Hiccup moved his arms up and down. Toothless opened his wings and flapped them. Moon just looked at him, unimpressed. She began grooming herself, indicating that she was loosing interest. Toothless looked up at Hiccup again. Hiccup then fluttered his hands up and down, dancing on the spot, but the movement caught Moon's eye. She turned to see who was there, but Hiccup had ducked out of sight. Moon looked back at Toothless.

"What are you looking at?" She asked.

"Oh nothing," Toothless said. He opened his wings again and flapped them rapidly, like a Groncke. But that caused him to spin in circles, out of control. He spun towards Moon. She drew back, and covered herself with her wing. Toothless stopped just before he ran into her, spraying sand all over her. Moon uncovered her face, and sneezed the sand out of her nostrils.

"Ah, sorry," Toothless said, timidly. He looked up at Hiccup again. Hiccup started marching around with his shoulders back and his hands on his hips. Avalon watched him and rolled her eyes. Toothless stood on his hind legs and put his front paws on his hips and started marching around Moon. She watched him, confused. He stopped in front of her. He saw that she still didn't look impressed. Getting frustrated now, he tried the courtship dance he'd seen the Nadders perform. Jumping up and down, flaring his wings. Moon watched him get closer and closer, she was officially freaked out now. He got closer, and she angrily smacked him in the face. Toothless looked hurt, as Moon flew over to a low hanging branch. She wrapped her tail around it and hung upside down. She glared at him with her front paws crossed, then she wrapped herself up in her wings. Toothless walked over to her, and looked up at her. He was starting to loose hope of ever winning her over. He crawled up onto the branch. He looked over at Hiccup and Avalon, and pointed his wing tip at Moon. He walked out onto the branch, carefully stepping over Moon's tail. He sat on the branch and looked at Moon. Then he looked back at Hiccup. Hiccup was warning him with hand gestures that Toothless was going to fall. But Toothless just shrugged it off. He grinned mysteriously and began using his weight to shake the branch up and down. Moon felt this and flailed around, panicking. Avalon narrowed her eyes disapprovingly. Moon was clearly not enjoying this. Avalon moved two of her talons downward, making the end of the branch break off. Toothless fell on the sand with a loud thump. Moon wrapped herself in her wings again. Toothless got to his feet looking longingly up at her. He caught sight of Hiccup waving his arms trying to get Toothless's attention. But Toothless was officially done taking Hiccup's advice, since it seemed to just make things worse. He turned away, and his eyes fell on the piece of branch next to him. A new idea came to him. He picked the branch up in his teeth and used it to draw in the sand. Moon peeked out between her wings, and saw Toothless drawing in the sand. Interested, Moon dropped down onto the sand and came over. Toothless noticed.

"Oh, you're an artist," Moon said, smiling. Toothless smiled but didn't answer and squinted at her face. He went back to drawing in the sand. A few moments later, he stepped back. He'd drawn a picture of her. Both Avalon and Hiccup were impressed.

"Oh now you can draw," Hiccup whispered to himself. Moon looked at the picture then at Toothless.

"That's pretty good," she said. She walked closer, and stepped on a line

"Hey, don't step on my picture," Toothless growled.

"Excuse me?" Moon hissed back. Toothless instantly dropped the branch, and tried again.

"I, I mean can you please not step on my picture?" He asked more politely. Moon relaxed.

"Oh, sure," she said. And she walked around the picture, closer to him. She stared at him, and he stared back at her.

"Hmmm, you're okay I suppose," Moon said, smiling at him. "You are very strange, but perhaps that's not such a bad thing. I can learn to like it. Come let's watch the sun rise, we can talk more." She turned and walked to the edge of the river. She spread her wings and took off. Toothless watched her circle the riverbank. She stopped and hovered over him. She opened her mouth to say something, but her eyes caught Hiccup in the bushes. She quickly turned and flew off. Toothless panicked.

"Wait come back!" He cried. But she kept flying away. Desperate Toothless took off to try to follow her, but he just splashed down into the river. He surfaced and watched Moon disappear. Heartbroken, Toothless pulled his broken tail out of the water, then slapped it down angrily. He suddenly heard wings behind him. He turned around to see Avalon landing on the sand. She had a look of pity on her face. Toothless swam to edge of the river, and dragged himself out looking very upset.

"I've failed," he said, sitting on his haunches angrily.

"You didn't fail Toothless," Avalon said calmly. "She likes you, she really does. You can't follow her because you're disabled, it's not your fault." Toothless looked at her.

"You saw me, I have no idea how to court her," he said, glaring at the ground. "Some Night Fury I am."

"Why don't we get your tail fixed first," Avalon suggested. "Then we'll worry about that." They both looked up at Hiccup.

When they got back to the campsite, the sun was rising. No one was up yet, and the whole area was quiet. Hiccup went to the makeshift forge and rummaged through his old blueprints. He soon pulled out the plans for a tail fin that allowed Toothless to fly by himself. He had kept them ever since his first attempt, so many years ago. Once they were spread out on the board behind the workbench, Hiccup got to work. Toothless got more and more excited, and just couldn't sit still. One by one the rest of the camp woke up. The other Draconian dragons woke up to find Avalon not next to them. They got up and found her standing near the forge, watching Hiccup. She smiled when her friends joined her.

"Morning Avalon," said Eider, nuzzling her. She returned the gesture.

"Good morning, handsome," she cooed.

"You're up early," Apollo observed.

"Moon snuck in here early this morning," Avalon said. "Lured Toothless to the river, where he tried to court her. But he doesn't really no how. She flew off, and he can't follow her. So Hiccup's making him a new tail, so he can."

"Ooh cool," said Black Widow. "I remember Serenity telling us about their first winter holiday with the dragons. She said Hiccup made him a tail fin that could allow him to fly alone, but he rejected it because he wanted to stay with Hiccup."

"Now that's what I call loyalty," Eider said. Toothless came up next to them, still very excited.

"The new tail is almost done," he said.

"Yes, then you can go fly with Moon," said Avalon.

"Now, I just need to work out my courting problem," said Toothless, his spirits draining a bit. Eclipse and Black Widow looked at each other.

"You could ask Mother," Black Widow suggested. "She'll know what to do."

"Are you sure she won't just laugh at me?" Toothless asked. Black Widow looked a touch offended.

"Well I can't promise that she won't," she said. "But I can promise that she will help you."

"You should go find her before you talk to Moon again," said Eclipse.

"Fly all the way back to Draconia?" Toothless asked.

"You've got all the time in the world," Avalon assured him.

"What about Draco's Nest?" Toothless asked.

"Forget about it," Avalon said. "It's not going anywhere. We'll find it someday, but this is your happiness we're talking about. If this girl makes you happy, then go after her." Toothless considered. He stood tall.

"You're right," he said. "Thanks." She smiled at him. Toothless went back over to the forge. Hiccup was finished building the fin. He was painting it with a special black paint that was made of Toothless's saliva and black scales. This made the paint fireproof, and because it was black it made the fin match the rest of him. Toothless lent a wing whenever he was needed, the rest of the time he bounded excitedly all over the place. Astrid came over to see what Hiccup was doing. She saw the plans on the board.

"Oh, someone hasn't slept," she said. Toothless scratched behind his ears, knocking off loose scales.

"Yeah well, that Light Fury won't let me within a mile of her," said Hiccup, as he picked up the shedded scales. "And none of us will be getting any sleep, or finding the Hidden World until Toothless takes over." Toothless looked at the fin through a magnifying glass, his big head getting in Hiccup's way. Hiccup pushed him out of the way, but Toothless was so happy he didn't care.

"You know, you tried this once before he didn't want it," Astrid pointed out, also remembering their first Snogletog with the dragons. They put all the shedded black scales into the mortar.

"Well up until now he didn't have a reason," said Hiccup. "Right bud." He held up the small mortar to Toothless who spat into it. Hiccup then mashed it all up with a pestle. He noticed Astrid grinning at him.

"What?" He asked.

"No nothing," said Astrid. "I'm impressed. I mean look at you, embracing change. I am proud of you." She gave him an affectionate punch on the arm. Hiccup painted the last little bit of the tail.

"Well he's my best bud," he said. "I want him to be happy." He finished and set down the paintbrush. "Besides it's just until he brings her back." He kissed Astrid on the cheek, then picked up the fin. He went over to Toothless and held the fin open. "Okay fire when ready." He failed to see Gobber right behind the fin. Toothless shot a plasma blast at the fin, it came out un phased. Hiccup folded up the fin, satisfied but then spotted Gobber with burning whiskers.

"Well, I guess you know the tail is fireproof," Gobber said, dousing the fire. Hiccup gave him a very apologetic look. Then went over to Toothless.

"Okay, hold still," Hiccup told him. Toothless tried to sit still, but he kept wiggling with excitement. Hiccup began attaching the fin. Eret walked by, seeing all this.

"Someone's excited," he said, amused.

"Well, he's fresh off his first date," Hiccup said. "Now he's love crazed."

"Only we're the ones going crazy," said Gobber. "The sooner he brings back that Light Fury the better."

"But in order to do that, he'll have to fly without me," said Hiccup, as he finished attaching the fin. "So time to give this new and improved baby as shot." He got up and Toothless flexed his organic fin, which operated the mechanical one. He was so happy. "Looking sharp Toothless." From a distance it looked like he still his left fin, as though it had never been cut off.

"Well bring her home, by sundown at the latest," said Hiccup, mimicking Stoic. Toothless gave him a big, grateful hug. "Okay, you're welcome. Save it for your girlfriend, go." He pushed Toothless off him. Toothless was about to run off, but stopped and turned to Avalon.

"Princess, you think you can take over in my absence?" He asked her. Avalon looked surprised.

"Absolutely," she said. "You just worry about finding Moon."

"Thanks," Toothless said. He ran off, but then he stopped. He looked back over his wing at Hiccup. Hiccup gave him an encouraging smiled and made a 'go' gesture. Toothless beamed and took off. He soared over the trees, the new fin worked perfectly. Toothless had forgotten how wonderful it felt to fly free, without the weight of a rider. He circled the campsite once, then flew away into the clouds.

When he was gone, Avalon shook herself and fluttered her wings.

"Right then, to work," she said importantly. She turned to face her friends. She noticed that someone was missing. "Where's Edelweiss?" They looked around, but Edelweiss was not standing next to them. Black Widow glanced back towards the bed of ferns.

"I guess she's still asleep," she said.

"Hmmm," said Avalon suspiciously. She went back over to the bed of ferns, and sure enough Edelweiss was still there sleeping. Avalon approached and licked her face. Edelweiss stirred and opened her eyes. She yawned.

"Is it morning already?" She asked.

"Yes," said Avalon, worried. "Are you okay, did you not sleep well." Edelweiss sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

"I had another nightmare last night," she confessed. "I've had them for the last few nights." Avalon took a deep breath, as though she were trying to not be angry. She laid down beside Edelweiss.

"Oh Edel, what am I going to do with you?" She asked, with a sigh. "If you don't let go of this fear of being locked up, you're not going to get any better. I worry if this doesn't change, you'll end up getting sick." Edelweiss tried to hold back tears.

"I'm so scared that these people will lock me up because I can talk to dragons, and they can't," she said.

"If they don't like it, then that's their problem," said Avalon. "And you're not going to get locked up, you're still under the protection of the Lunar Eclipse Amulet, you have no reason to be scared. You know your dad would not approve of this." She nuzzled Edelweiss, and licked her face.

"I know," Edelweiss said. "Nor would my mother. I'm really sorry."

"Don't be sorry," Avalon said. She gave Edelweiss a big hug with her wing. "You can always come to us if you need anything. We're here for you, because we love you so much." Edelweiss too a deep breath. She hugged Avalon gratefully.

"Thanks," she said. Avalon pulled back after a while.

"Well, I need to go," she said. "Toothless asked me to step in for him while he's looking for Moon." Edelweiss let her go, and she got to her feet.

"Do you think we'll find Draco's Nest?" Edelweiss asked her. Avalon smiled at her.

"We'll find it," she said. "I know we will. Probably won't happen for a while, but we will find it." With that she left. Edelweiss got up and went with her.

Toothless flew high over the ocean. He headed for Draconia, allowing his instincts to guide him. All the while he kept his eye out for Moon but she didn't show herself again. In what felt like no time at all, he found himself flying over the big wall and into Draconian waters. He headed for the island of Mt. Vulcan, where Windwalker stayed with Tenor, their riders, and her squadron. He soon spotted the island and descended towards the lake. He circled it and soon spotted a small blue cabin on the shore, shaded by large oak trees. Serenity and Chris were laying on a grassy slope next to it. Windwalker was dozing happily in the shade, along with Tenor's mother Firefly. Tenor was nowhere insight. Toothless let out a roar to announce his arrival. Everyone looked up as he landed. Chris and Windwalker tensed.

"Who are you?" Chris demanded, getting to his feet.

"And what are you doing on my island?" Windwalker demanded. Chris was about to grab his swords, but Serenity got to her feet and stopped him.

"Guys, it's just Toothless," she said calmly. They looked again, and saw that it was true.

"Toothless, wow. I hardly recognized you without all that gear on you," Chris said. Serenity stroked Toothless's neck.

"I'm sorry, I haven't flown like this in a long time," Toothless said. He leaned into Serenity's touch.

"But why are you here?" Windwalker asked again, more nicer. "Are our children okay?"

"Oh, they're just fine," Toothless said. "I'm actually here to ask your advice Windwalker."

"Really?" Windwalker asked, taken aback. "About what?" Toothless took a deep breath.

"It's a bit of a delicate matter," he said. "I met a girl, a Light Fury. She seems very interested in me, and I her. But I have no idea how to court her. I've tried and nothing's worked." They were all surprised by this.

"A Light Fury you say," said Windwalker. "That's really special. Well, what signs has she shown that she's interested in you?"

"Well, she keeps following me," Toothless said. "And she liked the picture I drew her."

"Hmm, I can help you," Windwalker said. "Well, Night Furies court by performing a special dance. My parents taught it to me when they were still alive. However, I wasn't really able to perform it when I courted Tenor. He can't really do it right."

"He gets that from me," said Firefly casually. "I couldn't really do it either."

"Well, come over here I'll show you how it's done," said Windwalker. She went over to a clear patch of grass. Toothless followed her, Serenity went to sit back down next to Chris. Firefly made herself comfortable.

"Okay," Windwalker began. "Watch me first." She flared her wings, and pranced in a circle, just like Moon had done. Windwalker came to a stop, reared onto her hind legs, flapped her wings and roared at the sky. Then she dropped down again.

"That's what she did," Toothless said. "But I didn't know what to do."

"Well, you were supposed to copy her," Windwalker said. "Give it a try." Toothless took a deep breath, and attempted the dance. But he tripped on his wings and fell over.

"It's harder than it looks," he said.

"Yes it is, I had to do it several times before I got it right," Windwalker said. "Get up, try again. Keep your wings up high so you don't trip." Toothless got to his feet and did as she said. He stumbled again, on his tail. He groaned in frustration.

"Keep trying you'll get it," said Windwalker.

"I feel like a failure," Toothless said.

"Well, you will be a failure if you give up," Windwalker said sternly. "Now, get up and keep trying." Toothless did so.

Firefly watched them. Windwalker gave Toothless plenty of pointers. Tenor and his father NightWing suddenly landed on the grass near his mother. Tenor spotted Toothless and Windwalker practicing the courting dance. He came up beside Firefly.

"What's going on Mother?" He asked. Firefly laughed and got to her feet. She could hear the tension in his voice.

"Relax Nightwatcher," she said, calmly. "Windwalker's just showing Toothless how to court a female he met. She's not turning her back on you." Tenor relaxed, surprised.

"Oh, really?" He said. "He's finally found a female."

"Yes," said Firefly. "A Light Fury."

"A Light Fury?" NightWing said. "Wow, that is really special. He's very lucky to have caught the eye of one of those."

"Toothless doesn't know how to court her," said Firefly. "I guess that's what happens with living a domesticated life for so long." Tenor went over to Toothless and Windwalker. Toothless spotted.

"Oh hey Tenor, I swear this isn't what it looks like," he said, nervously.

"You're fine cousin," Tenor said. "Sounds like you've gotten one of your own."

"Moon is her name," Toothless said.

"Nice, she's probably a lot prettier than mine," Tenor joked. Windwalker nipped him on the shoulder. He jumped away playfully. "Maybe we can double up sometime, and compare."

"Shut up Tenor," Windwalker said. "We have work to do, go away if you're not going to help."

"Yes dear," Tenor said, still smirking. He went back over to his parents.

Toothless practiced the courting dance over and over, until he managed to do it without stumbling. He was so proud of himself. He grinned.

"I did it!" He exclaimed.

"Yes you did," Windwalker said. "I told you you'd get it if you kept trying."

"Is there anything else I should know before I talk to Moon again?" Toothless asked. Windwalker thought a moment.

"Just be yourself, don't try being something you're not, just to impress her," she said. "You'll turn yourself into a walking lie."

"Thanks, you think I'm ready?" Toothless asked.

"Doesn't matter what I think," Windwalker said. "It's wether you think you're ready." Toothless took a deep breath. Chris and Serenity came up beside him. Serenity hugged him.

"Good luck Toothless," she said. "I'm sure she'll make a fine queen for you." Toothless purred.

"Maybe after I make her my queen, I'll bring her back here to meet you all," he said.

"We look forward to it," Chris said. He scratched Toothless's ears, making him purr. Serenity let go and kissed Toothless on the nose. He licked her face.

"I'll see you later then," he said. He turned and flew away, feeling more confident. Chris took Serenity's hand, as they all watched him go.

Toothless left Draconia far behind. He flew though the clouds. The sun was setting. Toothless looked all over for Moon, calling her name. But he was the only dragon for miles. He suddenly saw a shadow ahead of him. At first he thought it was her, cloaked in invisibility, flying ahead of him. But as he got closer to the cloud, he realized it was just his shadow. He sighed sadly and glided through the clouds. Suddenly he heard an explosion far in the distance. He glanced around, looking for the source. He didn't see anything though, but it put him on edge. It was a similar sound to when Moon cloaked herself. Hopeful he looked around again. He caught sight of a cloud splitting apart, as though something was flying through them. Moon came out of the cloud, and uncloaked herself.

"Hello," she said, presently surprised. She flew a bit closer.

"Wow, prettiest cloud I ever saw," Toothless said, giving her a dreamy look. She giggled, and blushed.

"You're flying now," she said.

"My buddy Hiccup made me this tail fin," Toothless said, showing her. "So I can fly without him." Moon tilted her head.

"That's the small human you were traveling with," she said. "I shoved him off your back, yet you went after him."

"Hiccup's my friend," Toothless said. "He's risked his life for me, numerous times. You'll find there are humans in this world that are worth saving. Hiccup, Edelweiss, and her parents are some examples."

"Hmm, he seems like a good friend to make that for you," Moon said, she smiled at him. "I guess I was soo, distracted by you, that I didn't realize you were disabled. Is that why you didn't follow me before?"

"Yeah, I had my fin cut off when I was younger," Toothless said. "Hiccup made a fin that he operated with his foot, and it helped fly again. Now I have a question for you. How do you do that disappearing thing?"

"Ooh, it's quite easy," Moon said. "I believe you Night Furies can do it too. Come I'll teach you." She rolled over to his other side, and flew off. Toothless followed her.

They headed towards a large whirlwind. Moon flew right into it, and Toothless followed. They were surrounded by storm clouds, and lighting flashed all around. Moon look under her wing at Toothless.

"Watch," she said. She fired her pink plasma blasts and flew into it, tucking in her wings. Once the fire cleared, she was invisible. A moment later, she reappeared. She stopped and hovered. "Now you try." Toothless beamed. He mimicked her and fired his blue plasma blast. He folded his wings and shot into it. He came out, still visible. He looked all over himself, nothing had change. He sighed and tried again, again nothing happened. Moon came up beside him.

"Hmm, have you unlocked your titan wing yet?" She asked.

"Yes I have," said Toothless.

"Activate it, then try again," Moon suggested. Toothless rolled his shoulders, making his spines split down his back. They glowed bright blue. He powered up another blast, and suddenly electricity crackled all over his body lighting him up like a Skrill. It drew lightening bolts from the storm around him. He fired again, shot forward with astonishing speed, and vanished with a clap of thunder. Moon was stunned, that she had not expected. She glanced around.

"Toothless?" She said. Toothless reappeared again, hiccuping smoke and flames. He started falling, that stunt had severely winded him. Moon quickly flew underneath him and boosted him back onto the air. He shook himself and flew straight again.

"Wow, that was incredible," he said.

"Yes it was," said Moon, smiling at him. "Well done."

"I didn't know I had that in me," said Toothless. "I thought only Skrills could harness lightening like that."

"Well, perhaps Night Furies and Skrills are related distantly," said Moon. "I believe Lord Draco had found a way to tie all dragon species together, in some ways more obvious than others. He says the entire dragon race is just one really big family."

"Hmm and we're all related to him," Toothless said.

"Yes, he's our creator," Moon said. "Where I come from, we treat each other as brothers and sisters, even if we're mates and have dragonets." She chuckled.

"Where do you come from?" Toothless asked. She gave him a mysterious smile.

"Enough talk," she said. "Lets fly." She took off into the storm. Toothless followed her.

They flew together through the storm, under the light of the full moon. They spun around each other in perfect harmony. Moon's scales sparkled and shone in the bright moonlight.

"I can see why you're called Moon," Toothless said, giving her a gummy grin.

"And I can see why you're called Toothless," Moon giggled. The two of them flew high above the clouds, and faced each other. They entwined their tails, forming a love heart in front of the moon with their bodies. Toothless then licked Moon between the eyes. She looked surprised for a moment, but smiled. They went into a stall and flew gracefully back down towards the surface of the sea. They glided low over the water as they came out of the clouds. The night lit up with a green aurora.

"Oooh, I always love coming out here and seeing these lights," Moon whispered.

"The Draconian Queen is named after them," said Toothless.

"Yes, Queen Aurora," said Moon. "We know about her. That's why we call these lights, Aurora's Fire." They fell silent again, and enjoyed the lights. To Toothless, it felt like the skies lit up just for them. Moon's white scales reflected the green light. Moon caught him looking at her. She smiled and flew very close to him, touching her wing tip to his. She sparkled like a beautiful jade stone. They separated after a few moments to flap their wings. Toothless looked ahead of them, and spotted a huge cloud of mist hovering over the ocean. There came a loud sound of rushing water. Moon glided over to the wall of mist. The ocean suddenly dropped into the biggest waterfall Toothless had ever seen. The waterfall gushed into a big hole, filled with mist. Toothless looked at Moon, she was still smiling at him.

"We're not going in there are we?" He asked, timidly.

"You're not afraid are you?" Moon teased. Toothless took a deep breath.

"Of course not," he said.

"Then come Mighty Alpha," Moon said excitedly. "You're kingdom awaits." Before Toothless could ask anymore questions, Moon locked her talons to his and pulled him down into the mist.


	4. The Hidden World

Chapter 4

Back on New Berk; Avalon walked around the campsite, keeping an eye on the dragons there. She was determined to do the best job she could filling in for Toothless, and was determined to not let him down. Her friends pitched in of course, as well as Toothless's friends since they knew the squadron better than she did. Things were going smoothly. The squadron accepted her as the substitute alpha. Avalon also kept her eye on the humans. Hiccup seemed very anxious without his dragon, and he kept asking Avalon if she could see where Toothless was with her magic vision. Avalon kept assuring him that neither he nor Moon had been captured. She tried to keep her patience.

She was sitting in a tree overlooking the campsite. The vikings seemed very happy with this new location, happier then they had been on Old Berk. The dragons were also a lot less crabby and snappy. Just then Eider flew up and landed on a different branch of the tree.

"Hey Avalon," he said. "We were wondering where you were."

"I'm sorry," said Avalon.

"Eclipse said she wants to talk to us about something," said Eider. "She seems really nervous about it." Avalon alerted.

"Oh, okay," she said. She got to her feet and followed Eider to where their friends were gathered. Eclipse looked very anxious, pacing up and down. She glanced up when Eider and Avalon landed.

"Hi Avalon," she said.

"Hey, what's going on Eclipse?" Avalon asked. Eclipse opened her mouth too speak, but said nothing. Black Widow was looking worried.

"It's okay sister," she said, encouragingly. "We'll always be your family, no matter what."

"Well, you're not going to like this," said Eclipse. "Especially you Black Widow." She took a deep breath. "I've decided to live away from Draconia and away from the group, and live as a rebel." Avalon narrowed her eyes.

"Rebel?" She said. "And who would you be rebelling against?"

"I guess rebel's the wrong word," said Eclipse. "I want to live like Eider's parents did. Following no alpha, except for Lord Draco, and travel the world, not living in once place. The life of a royal just isn't for me." The group looked at each other.

"You, don't want to be in the group anymore?" Edelweiss asked.

"I don't, but it doesn't mean I don't want to be your guys' friend," said Eclipse. "And I mean no disrespect for you Avalon, I know you'll make a great queen. And you are by no means the reason I want to live this life."

"Oh, please don't go away Eclipse," Black Widow begged. "I like having a sister. We don't stay together just because we're royal, we stay together because we're all family."

"I know," said Eclipse. "I like having a sister too, which gives me a good reason to come back and visit you guys." Black Widow looked close to tears.

"Does Mother and Father know about this?" She asked.

"Yes, I told them before we came up here," said Eclipse.

"Is there nothing I can say or do to change your mind?" Avalon asked, quietly.

"No," said Eclipse.

"What if you get into trouble?" Black Widow asked. "We won't be able to help you." Eclipse thought a moment.

"I might have something that can help," said Apollo, speaking for the first time. He reached into a pocket of his utility vest, and pulled out three identical star shaped sapphires.

"What are those?" Eclipse asked.

"I call them dreamvisitors," said Apollo. "I enchanted them this morning. You hold it to your forehead, close your eyes, and it'll let you visit the dreams of anyone you've seen. Whether you're close friends with them or if it's someone you saw just once at a distance. If you can picture them, you can visit them in their dreams, if they're asleep of course. You can take one with you, and you can contact us if you need help or feel homesick. They work on both humans and dragons, so you can also keep track of any villain you're trying to avoid." He chuckled.

"You have three," Eclipse pointed out. "What are you going to do with the others?"

"Well, I can give you one, and I'll keep one," said Apollo. "I haven't decided who's going to get the third one. Maybe I can give it to Hiccup."

"Um better not," Avalon said. "It's a magic item. And not that I think Hiccup will misuse it, but he could loose it or pass it down to someone who will misuse it."

"How can humans misuse something like this?" Apollo asked.

"Oh, humans always find a way to misuse magic," said Avalon. "Magic can corrupt anyone, even dragons. The only dragon I know of that was corrupted by magic, was the Red Death." Apollo looked back over at Eclipse.

"So, you want one?" he asked her. Eclipse considered.

"Where would I keep it?" she asked. Apollo reached into another pocket and pulled out a small draw string bag made of leather, attached to a long leather string. He put a dreamvistior into the bag and drew it tight. He handed it to Eclipse.

"Ah, you keep it for now," she said. "I'll stick around until we go home." Apollo shrugged and put the back and the other dreamvistiors into his pocket.

"Will you be there for my coronation?" Avalon asked.

"Of course," said Eclipse.

"And you can take Edelweiss with you, when it's your turn to have her on your back," said Avalon. Edelweiss smiled and nodded in agreement. "I no longer care about even numbers."

"Thanks," Eclipse said. "You guys are good friends. I was worried you guys would reject me."

"Well, this will be hard for us," said Eider. "But we can adjust." Black Widow changed the subject.

"I wonder how Moon and Toothless are doing," she said. "You think they found each other yet?"

"I'm sure they did," said Avalon. "I'm blocking out visions of them, so I'm not spying on them. I don't want be intrusive." Just then Hiccup ran up to them.

"Has Toothless gotten into trouble yet?" he asked.

"No," said Avalon annoyed. "He's fine Hiccup, they both are." Hiccup took a deep breath.

"Why hasn't he come back yet?" he asked.

"They probably just want to be alone for a while," said Apollo. "Our parents do sometimes. They've just met, so they're probably have a lot of stories to tell." Avalon nuzzled Eider's neck. She looked back at Hiccup.

"I know you're worried about him, but he's just fine," she said. "I'll tell you if something goes wrong."

"Thanks Avalon," said Hiccup. He walked off.

"You think Toothless and Moon will have dragonets?" Eclipse asked.

"Oh, I hope so," said Edelweiss. "I bet they'd be so cute." She beamed at the thought.

"Only time will tell," said Avalon. "I'm going to check on the dragons. We can play marbles later." She left and was surprised when Eider came after her.

"I'll go with you," he said. "So you won't be alone." Avalon smiled at him and licked his face.

"Thanks Eider," she said. He nuzzled her. Then they walked off together.

Later that night the vikings threw a huge bonfire, in celebration of their new home. The dragons all went fishing, except for the Draconians. They were lounging near the bonfire, playing their marble game. They watched the happy vikings toss Hiccup in the air.

"Okay, guys now I'm just getting sick," Hiccup said. The crowd set him down, and he wobbled on his feet before righting himself on Gobber who standing there. Gobber clamped a big hand on Hiccup's shoulder, almost knocking him to the ground.

"I thought you were a little off your rocker, but this place aint half bad," said Gobber.

"This was suppose to be a temporary solution," said Hiccup.

"It's unanimous," said Eret, who was sitting with the other riders near the Draconians. "Everyone agrees we've definitely traded up. Well done chief." He gave Hiccup a playful punch on the arm. Hiccup laughed awkwardly. Eret walked of.

"What if the tail broke?" Hiccup said, mostly to himself. "What if Grimmel found him? What if he needs me?"

"Would you relax," said Gobber. "He's probably having the time of his life."

"How would I know?" Hiccup asked. "She never comes around. And when she does, she's always rushing off. I'm saying how do we know if she's right for us?"

"What are you talking about Hiccup?" Avalon asked as she took her turn in the marble game. The Draconians had already told Hiccup about their meeting with Moon at the river.

"You know what I mean," Hiccup sad. "She's so wild and skittish. I'm just going to say it, I don't trust her." The Draconians and Gobber laughed.

"Can't tame them all Hiccup," Gobber said. "One day you'll have to snip those apron strings, and let Toothless stretch his wings."

"Hey that rhymed," Apollo said, taking his turn in the marble game. "And didn't Toothless have this attitude towards Astrid in the early days?"

"Hey you're right," said Avalon. Suddenly Gobber shrieked in surprised.

"Where do they keep coming from?" He asked.

"Who?" Hiccup asked.

"Those bloody Hobgobblers," said Gobber, pointing. "I swear they're popping up faster then rabbits." Hiccup looked and saw no Hobgobblers. "Avalon, will you do something about them?"

"They haven't done anything to you Gobber," said Avalon calmly. "And I detect no danger."

"They're a bad omen," said Gobber. Avalon rolled her eyes.

"Well, they're not really my dragons to do anything with," she said. Suddenly she glanced up and stared straight ahead. "Cloudjumber's coming back, he doesn't look good." A few minuets later Cloudjumper and Valka flew over the trees and all but crashed next to the bonfire. Worried, Hiccup ran over to them. The Draconians packed up their unfinished marble game, and went over too.

"Mom! Are you hurt?" Hiccup asked. "What happened."

"I don't know how, but Grimmel is tracking us," Valka said, when she caught her breath. "He has a hundred ships, maybe more. With enough cages for all of our dragons." Cloudjumper caught his breath too, and apart from a few scrapes, seemed fine. He looked around.

"Where's Toothless?" He asked.

"He went off to find Moon," said Avalon. "He's left me in charge."

"If Grimmel is leading them here, have to take him out of the mix," Hiccup said.

"Uh, and how would we do that?" Tuffnut asked.

"By going there to capture him," said Hiccup. They all stared at him, taken aback.

"Capture him?" Gobber said.

"I'm with him, who else," Tuffnut roared. Again, that seemed to persuade everyone. Hiccup looked over at Avalon.

"You think you can come, and help us Avalon?" He asked.

"I still have to fill in for Toothless," said Avalon. "He trusted me with his squadron."

"I'll go," said Apollo, bravely. Avalon looked at him, surprised.

"You sure?" She asked. Apollo nodded. "Well, remember to use your titan wing if you need to." Apollo smiled. Avalon nuzzled him. "You better come back you here?"

"Yes ma'am," said Apollo. Avalon caught sight of Moose, the Crimson Goregutter. An idea occurred to her. She walked over to him.

"Excuse me Moose," she said. Moose looked at her.

"Good evening your highness," he said humbly.

"I have an assignment for you," said Avalon. Moose gave her his full attention.

The riders adorned their armor. Apollo clicked his talons and his armor appeared. The riders mounted their dragons, Hiccup mounted Apollo. They took off, and Valka lead them towards Grimmel's fortress. Hiccup found that Apollo was very hyper with excitement.

"Hey Apollo, do you know what weaknesses the Deathgrippers have?" Hiccup asked.

"Um, I know they're easily distracted," said Apollo. "They will chase anything they see or hear move, even if it's nothing." Hiccup went over his plan with the group. He noticed that Fishlegs had brought Fishmeat again.

They soon spotted the dark fortress, surrounded by hundreds of ships. The fortress looked like a tall, black rook piece from a chess set. When they were close enough they jumped off their dragons and glided to the ground with their flight suits. The dragons flew off and circled high above, well out of sight. The riders landed silently on the out skirts of the fortress. They ducked behind large rocks. The Deathgrippers were already paroling the area, looking for intruders.

"Okay, split up," said Snotlout. "We'll be harder to catch."

"I was thinking we should split up," said Eret. "Just because."

"I like you're instincts," said Valka. They split up and moved stealthily around the fortress, avoiding the Deathgrippers. Hiccup ran up to Grimmel's chambers, his sword at the ready. But he found it empty. Unexpectedly a net covered the whole base. Hiccup ran out of the room, he could hear Fishmeat squealing excitedly and Fishlegs trying to quiet him. Hiccup ran down the stairs, and spotted Grimmel sneering at him from the other side of the net.

"Where's your dragon when you need him?" He said. "Seems to have forgotten all about you." He laughed. "First rule of the hunt: separate the prey from its pack. You've just removed yourselves from the equation."

"Why are you doing this?" Hiccup demanded.

"Really? I didn't think cared," said Grimmel. "Well, unlike you. When I was a boy and I came across an Night Fury, I killed it where it slept. That simple act of courage made a hero in my village. So I decided to kill every last one, brining real peace to the people to the people of this world. Until you came along preaching that dragons are something more than thieves and murders. That nonsense dies now, starting with you."

"But you have dragons of your own," Hiccup pointed out. A Deathgripper walked up to Grimmel.

"These? There dragon killers," said Grimmel. "Drugged into obedience with their own venom." Hiccup now saw the metal collar around the Deathgripper's neck, that held syringes full of venom to the dragon's skin. "Not even your precious alpha could control them, they serve me. And only me. Allow me to demonstrate." He whistled.

"Take cover!" Hiccup cried out. The Deathgripper fired its fiery acid at the stairs Hiccup was standing on, but Hiccup ran up the stairs and out of the way. The riders ran all over the fortress, as the Deathgrippers lit up the fortress. The stairs were crumbling fast, Hiccup jumped off them and onto a near by wall, hanging on for his life. Valka fought off the Deathgrippers. Since she was close to the top of the net, she stuck her staff out and swung it around, calling her dragon.

"Up here!" She called to the other riders. Astrid dodged a Deathgripper, and climbed up the wall to the top. Cloudjumper appeared with Apollo. The two dragons tried to pull the net off the base. All the riders, except for Hiccup, managed to get to the top of the net. Their dragons came and flew them to safety. Valka spotted her son still far from the top. He was stuck on a beam, suspended over a huge drop into the fire.

"Hiccup!" Valka called to him. Hiccup backed up a bit, then took a running leap of faith, narrowly avoiding a Deathgipper jumping at him. But the dragon missed, and Valka managed to grab Hiccup before he fell to his death. Cloudjumper stuck his tail under the net. Valka and Hiccup grabbed onto it, and he pulled them to safety. The Deathgrippers jumped at them, and caught trapped under the net. But as the dragons flew away, Moose the Goregutter flew in like a flying battering ram.

"Yeah, our hero!" Fishlegs exclaimed. Moose rammed into the fortress, causing it to crumble into a burning pile of rubble. He rejoined the other dragons, as Hiccup jumped back onto Apollo's saddle. They flew far from the fortress, and headed back to New Berk. Apollo flew to the front of the formation. He was still running on adrenaline.

"Thanks for your help Moose," he said to the Goregutter.

"You're welcome," Moose said. "You're sister sent me after you guys, she figured you'd need my help. She's a smart one." Apollo beamed.

Dawn was approaching when they got back to New Berk. A crowd had gathered as the riders came in for landing. Gobber stood next to the other Draconians. Gobber saw them without Grimmel.

"Thor almighty," he said. "Guess we won't be needing this." He gestured to a wooden cage. The riders dismounted, except for Hiccup.

"I led us right into his trap," said Hiccup, his voice cracking.

"Yeah nice work chief," said Tuffnut. "Right Ruff?" There came no answer. They all looked to see that Ruffnut was missing.

"Wait, where is Ruffnut?" Hiccup asked.

"We left her behing?" Fishlegs cried, worried.

"How could you not notice she was missing?" Astrid asked. "You ride a two headed dragon."

"Oh yeah, I feel like how Ruffnut is everyday," said Tuffnut. "Dumb."

"Odin be spanked!" Gobber roared. "This just keeps getting better and better." They all started murmuring with worry.

"Okay guys," Hiccup said. "Just keep your helmets on. Toothless and I will fly..."

"Toothless has the Light Fury now," a viking interrupted. "He's probably not even coming back." Hiccup looked around, and saw that Toothless still hadn't come back.

"What?" He said.

"You gave him his freedom Hiccup," said Astrid quietly. "What were you expecting."

"I never thought he'd stay away for good," said Hiccup, he was badly overwhelmed. "I...I...I'll figure something out. I just need more time." He turned Apollo around, not bothering to dismount, and walked off. Valka came up beside Astrid.

"He thinks he has to lead alone," she said. "Well, because his father had to." They both looked at Hiccup, looking ver alone indeed. Valka turned to Astrid. "He doesn't realize the strength you have together. Do you still believe in him?"

"Of course," said Astrid. "I wish he did. But he thinks he's nothing without Toothless." She thought a moment.

"Then help him realize the truth," said Valka wisely.

Apollo walked though the woods, still with Hiccup on his back. He kept glancing over his wing at Hiccup. He looked very upset and stressed. Hiccup suddenly realized he was still riding the red dragon.

"Sorry Apollo," he said.

"No it's okay," said Apollo. "I don't mind." He clicked his talons, and his armor vanished. Suddenly Stormfly landed in front of them, with Astrid on her back. She looked down at Hiccup.

"We're going to find him," she said.

"Really?" Hiccup said, his spirits lifting. The two dragons took off. Hiccup turned to the others as they flew by slowly.

"Everyone, stay put," he ordered. "We will get Ruffnut back, I promise." With that they flew away." Avalon went to start her day of substitute alpha. She walked passed Edelweiss, who was still sleeping on a bed of ferns. Avalon decided to leave her be for now.

Apollo and Stormfly flew far from New Berk. Stormfly quickly caught Toothless's scent and she followed it, with Apollo flying next to her. The sun came up as they flew over the ocean. No one spoke, and the only sounds came from the dragons' wings and Apollo singing quietly to himself. Stormfly soon caught the scent of a second dragon, which she suspected was the Light Fury's. The scents got stronger the farther they went. Apollo was getting excited.

"Where are we going?" He asked Stormlfy.

"I don't know," said Stormfly. "But I think we're getting close." They all started looking around for anything.

"Where's she heading?" Hiccup asked.

"She's tracking something," said Astrid. "Arn't you girl?"

"Guys," said Apollo.

"There's nothing but miles and miles..."

"Guys!" Apollo said again, interrupting Hiccup. "I see something." They followed his gaze and saw a large white line on the surface of the ocean, with rocks sticking out of it. The two dragons arched over it, and they saw that it was a massive, circular waterfall. Water gushed down into a big hole in the middle of the sea. Rocks were scatter around the rim. Apollo and Stormfly flew around it, staring at it.

"A great waterfall," said Hiccup.

"At the edge of the world." said Astrid. Apollo got excited again.

"Stormfly, we found it!" he cried.

"Yes," Stormfly agreed. "Yes we did."

"Oh, I wish my friends were here," said Apollo. He felt the spray from the waterfall on his wings, it felt so refreshing.

"Well, let's go find my alpha," said Stormfly. Apollo nodded in agreement. "Stay close." With that the two dragons dove into the big whole.

At the bottom of the waterfall were huge cracks in the Earth's crust, tall stalagmites rose out them. Apollo could smell sulphur, and realized that the entrance was not a waterfall but the crater of a massive caldera volcano. He could see the glow of magma between the cracks. Stormfly headed to a tunnel in the wall of the crater, Apollo stayed right on her flank. They flew through the tunnel, that was half filled with water. They followed the tunnel into a big cave, also filled with water that was brimming with glowing algae. The blue light reflected off their scales and wings. They reached another tunnel, flew through it, and came out into the Hidden World.

Incredible would have been an understatement. It took all their breaths away. Tall rock columns seem to stretch on forever. They were all covered in bioluminescence that lit up in different shades of pink, green, and blue. More waterfalls cascaded off the sides of many of the columns, into large pools that were big enough to hold Scauldrons. On many of the ledges, were glowing dragon eggs that gave off a bright orange glow. The floor and ceiling of the place were no where to be seen. Dragons were everywhere; from the biggest Timberjack to the smallest Fireworm. Then the two riders noticed that the dragons they were riding were glowing like the world around them. Stormfly's scales were glowing neon pink, yellow and blue. Apollo's red scales had were now glowing gold like he'd swallowed a piece of the sun. He admired himself, and he beamed. Stormfly sniffed the air again.

"This way," she said to Apollo. They picked up speed, being careful not to hit anything. They flew under a swarm of Fireworm dragons. The swarm flew down and surrounded the two bigger dragons, they didn't seem hostile, just checking out these dragons and the humans on their backs. They left the Fireworms and headed farther into the Nest.

They flew through an archway made of purple crystal. They were now surrounded by what looked like tall columns of dark pink table coral, that created perfect roosting places for dragons of all sizes. Stormfly led the way to bright light in the distance. Coincidently it seemed all the other wild dragons in the Nest were headed that direction too. They were all talking excitedly about something. The two dragons and their riders got closer to the light. It was coming from a huge crystal cave. When they entered the dragons found a place to land that was well out of sight of any of the local dragons. Astrid and Hiccup dismounted. They looked out at a massive sunstone that glowed brightly, it looked and felt like real sunlight. The local dragons surrounded it, looking up at it. Hanging above the sunstone was a giant, crystal stalactite. It was plenty big enough to house several dragons, as it was honeycombed and had more table coral attached to it. Many dragons flew in circles around it, roaring loudly. Apollo was giddy and fidgeting on the spot.

"I want to get closer," he said to Stormfly.

"All right," said Stromfly. "But stay on this side of the sunstone, don't go far." Apollo nodded and took off. He flew closer to the sunstone. He glanced around at all the dragons. There were several different species, including more Light Furies. He glided down and landed next to a Rumblehorn and a Zippleback. Here he got a better view of the sunstone. Being this close to it, he could feel the magic that seemed to be coming off its surface. He sat down and made himself comfortable.

Hiccup and Astrid looked out at the sunstone, and watched dragons fly around it, then went up to the stalactite. Hiccup quickly spotted his Night Fury, coming out from inside the stalactite with Moon at his side.

"Toothless," said Hiccup, he started to move but Astrid stopped him.

"You'll spook them," she whispered. Hiccup sighed but stayed put, looking anxious. They quietly watched.

Toothless and Moon flew out of the stalactite. They were followed by an entourage of dragons. They circled over the crowd, going right passed Apollo and not even noticing him. They circled the sunstone, once. Then the entourage joined the rest of the crowd, while Toothless and Moon flew up and landed on the very top of the sunstone. All the dragons cheered. Toothless looked down at them all. He spread his wings majestically, and roared loudly. The crowd hushed. Toothless folded his wings up again, then turned to smile at Moon.

"Are you ready my queen?" Toothless asked, giving her a gummy grin.

"Yes I am," Moon answered without hesitation, smiling back. With that, they performed their courtship dance. Thanks to Windwalker's coaching, Toothless was now able to perform the dance perfectly. When finished, they nuzzled each other. Then they turned to face the crowd again, and sat side by side. All around the sunstone, the dragons all bowed to their king and queen. Apollo and Stormfly were no exception.

Hiccup looked up them. Moon leaned into Toothless, tucking her head under his chin. He put his wing around her, pulling her closer and rested his head gently on hers. Toothless looked so happy, with his new queen. It was clear that this was where he was meant to be. Hiccup took a deep breath.

"We should go," he said quietly. Suddenly they heard movement behind them. They turned to see a very angry gold Rumblehorn glaring down at them. He let out a loud roar, which alerted the other dragons. They turned around to face these intruders, they all instantly became hostile. Toothless and Moon were also alerted to humans in the Nest. Toothless already knew who it was. He took off, leaving Moon on the sunstone, looking worried. The dragons took off to attack, but he roared at them.

"Stand down, I'll take care of this," he ordered. The dragons obeyed, looking confused. Hiccup and Astrid were running for their lives. Dragons all grabbed at them with their claws or talons, which caused them all to miss. They ran and dodged the dragons, looking for Apollo and Stormfly. They were about to get mauled by the mob of dragons, when something grabbed them and flew off. Hiccup looked up to see that Toothless had saved them in the nick of time.

"I'm sorry bud," Hiccup said. Toothless roared at him to be quiet. He flew away from the sunstone. Stormfly joined him, she'd lost sight of Apollo in the chaos.

"Toothless, here," she said. Toothless flew closer to her, allowing Astrid to drop safely into her saddle.

When they were out in the open, flying though the stone pillars, Apollo finally caught up to them. He looked very excited, and a touch relieved that no one was hurt.

"Hey Apollo," said Stormfly, relieved to see him. "How are you doing?"

"Whew, my heart's racing," Apollo said, panting slightly. "But I'm fine otherwise." He helped Hiccup get onto Toothless's back as they flew through the tunnel that led outside.

They flew out of the Nest, and back outside. The adrenaline was wearing off now. Apollo flew next to the two older dragons. He was so thrilled about what he'd just seen, he wouldn't fly straight. He flipped and spun, laughing happily. Finally he flew straight next to Toothless, his gold eyes still bright with excitement.

"Wow, you're the king of Draco's Nest now," Apollo said, beaming. "Though I am sorry we ruined you celebration."

"No, you didn't ruin it," Toothless said quietly. "I'm glad you guys were there."

"You don't have to come back with us," said Stormfly. "You should be with Moon, you seemed so happy together."

"I was meaning to come back actually," Toothless said. "I wasn't planning on having Avalon run things for me forever. And I'm hoping to lead you all there, where it's safe." Apollo was spinning and flipping again. Toothless watched him. "So Apollo," he said, in attempted to calm the younger dragon down. "What have I missed." Apollo straightened out before he answered. He told Toothless all that had happened in his absence, including the failed raid on Grimmel's fortress.

"And Eclipse said she doesn't want to be in our group anymore," said Apollo, more sadly. "She said that once we get home, and Avalon is crowned queen, she plans to head out on her own." He perked up three seconds later. "Say, do you plan to come to Avalon's coronation?"

"I do plan to come," Toothless said. "But we'll see what happens." His eyes grew sad. Apollo could see in his mind, that Toothless was still thinking about the world he'd just left, and Moon. He looked so sad, he was already really missing her. They all fell quiet, as they headed back to New Berk.


	5. With Love, Comes Loss

Chapter 5

Avalon walked through the woods, keeping a watchful eye on the dragons. Eider was beside her. Eclipse and Black Widow had gone hunting. Black Widow wanted to spend as much time with her sister, before she left the group. And with Apollo off with Hiccup, Astrid, and Stormfly, Avalon was left with Eider. She smiled warmly.

"It's much nicer to be able to do this without males chasing after me," she said. She flexed her wings.

"Have I ever acted like that?" Eider asked. Avalon thought a moment.

"No, I don't think you've been like that," she said. "You've never asked me dumb questions like; what are you doing?" She laughed humorlessly. "And you've been a great friend."

"So, you're not at all interested in any of those other males," said Eider. "You seemed friendly towards them."

"Because I have to be," said Avalon. "I'm nice to them, but I don't like any of them that way." She smiled at Eider. "You're the one I want." She leaned into him, touching her wing to his. She licked his face. He nuzzled her. Soon they kept walking.

They came up beside Valka, who was watching the vikings starting to build houses. Valka was taking over for Hiccup, as Avalon was taking over for Toothless until they all came back.

"You're people seem very happy here," Eider observed.

"We sure are," said Valka. "Many of the vikings still don't really believe that the Hidden World exists." Avalon sat on her haunches.

"Perhaps it's better that way," said Avalon. "If the humans here don't believe it exists, then the humans in the rest of the world won't believe it either. You can't destroy what you don't believe in." Eider watched the vikings building their new village.

"You think you'll ever go back to your old island?" He asked.

"I don't think so, we've out grown it," said Valka. "We needed a bigger place."

"Happens in nature all the time," said Avalon. "Animals out grow their old home, and look for a better one. Dragons and humans are no exception." Then she glanced around, realizing there was one member of her group that she hadn't seen in a while. "Where's Edelweiss?"

"Last I saw her she was talking to Hookfang," said Valka.

"I'll go find her," said Eider. He turned and trotted off. Avalon watched him go until he vanished through the trees. Then she turned back to watch the construction.

"You think you guys will keep these dragons forever?" She asked Valka.

"I don't know," said Valka. "It seems the longer we have them, the more villains come after us threatening us all. Villains have taken down my nest, then your brother's." Avalon looked sad at the thought.

"And lets be honest, you guys don't really need dragons," she said. "You just like having us around for companionship or convenience."

"Yes," Valka agreed. "Well I should go help with construction."

"And I should go find out where my friends went," said Avalon. She turned cantered off into the trees.

Hiccup sat on Toothless's back; Astrid and Stormfly on his right, and Apollo on his left. The younger red dragon was singing to himself again, but at leased he was flying straight. Except for his singing, the only sound came from the dragons beating their wings. Hiccup looked down at Toothless. The Night Fury seemed to be lost in thought, as though his mind were still back in the Hidden World. Hiccup's own mind wandered back in time again.

He remembered when he was a littler kid; he'd snuck down stairs in the middle of the night. He'd entered the ground floor to find his dad beside the fire pit, it sounded like he was crying which was extremely rare for Stoic. Hiccup stayed on the stairs, clutching the stuffed dragon toy his mother had made him. He was about to go back upstairs, but Stoic must have heard the movement behind him. He turned and saw Hiccup.

"Son!" Stoic said, surprised. "You should be asleep." He wiped his eyes.

"I was thirsty," Hiccup said innocently. Stoic sighed and smiled.

"Come here," he said. Hiccup ran down the stairs, and over to his dad. Stoic swung him up onto his lap. They stoked the fire in silence for a moment.

"Dad?" Hiccup asked. "Are you going to get us a new mom?" Stoic chuckled and kissed Hiccup on top of the head.

"I don't want another," he said. "Your mom, was the only woman for me. She was the love of my life. But with love comes loss, son. It's part of the deal. Sometimes it hurts, but in the end, it's all worth it. There's no greater gift then love."

Hiccup came back to the present, still looked at the back of Toothless's head. The dragon had looked so happy with Moon, in his kingdom. Hiccup wondered if it was a mistake going to look for him, and bringing him back. Hiccup loved Toothless like family, and wanted him to be happy and safe.

The three dragons were nearing New Berk now. The sun was in its late afternoon position. Apollo was still singing. Stormfly looked over at him on the other side of Toothless.

"Hey Apollo, can we have some quiet?" She asked. Apollo stopped and looked a touch embarrassed.

"It's okay Apollo, we're almost there anyway," Toothless said, without looking at him. Apollo looked a bit getter. He was missing his friends now.

Soon they landed on a grassy cliff near the village. Hiccup spotted the construction. The other vikings had clearly decided to set down roots on this new island. Stormfly and Apollo landed next to Toothless. Hiccup dismounted and looked Toothless in the eye. Toothless looked back at him, looking so sad.

"It's okay Bud," Hiccup said quietly. "You belong there, with her. We don't." Toothless crooned in sad agreement. "And that's all right." Hiccup continued, stroking Toothless's cheek. "We'll find a way to man..." he was cut off by Toothless snapping his head up in alert. They followed his gaze, and saw the Light Fury poking her head out above the tall grass. Toothless beamed and waged his tail happily.

"Hey," Hiccup exclaimed, just as excited. "She followed us back." Toothless licked his face, then ran over to Moon. "We might not have to say good bye after all." Toothless reached Moon, and she tackled him.

"Toothless, you scared me," she said. "When you just took off like that."

"I'm sorry Moon," said Toothless. "Here, I'll make it up to you. Come meet Hiccup. You'll like him, I promise." Moon hesitated, looking at the two humans. She looked at Hiccup, and Hiccup looked back at her. He smiled when Moon cautiously started to follow Toothless. But suddenly Hiccup heard a dragon landing behind him. He and Astrid turned to see Ruffnut astride a baby Scuttleclaw. The dragon came to a halt and Ruffnut jumped off its back.

"Ruffnut?" Astrid said, shocked.

"Miss me?" Ruffnut asked, sneering.

"How did you escape?" Astrid asked.

"I annoyed them 'til they let me go," Ruffnut boasted.

"Wait what?" Hiccup asked, he got a nasty sense of foreboding. "Grimmel let you go?"

"They couldn't handle me," said Ruffnut. "Everyone thinks Tuffnut's more annoying."

"Ruffnut focus," said Hiccup. "Were you fallowed?"

"I never look back Hiccup," said Ruffnut. Hiccup looked at her in horror.

"Toothless," he said. He turned and ran in the direction of the two Furies. He ran as fast as he could, but he suddenly saw Grimmel shoot both dragons down, with his poisoned darts. He bound and muzzled both of them tightly. Then chained them to a small airship that was hitched to four of his six Deathgrippers.

"No!" Hiccup cried. He reached the edge of the cliff, just as the airship took off. The two Furies dangled helplessly over the ocean. Astird and Ruffnut reached Hiccup. Grimmel sneered down at them from his airship.

"Now our little game must come to an end," he shouted. Suddenly there came the thunder of a thousand dragon wings. The Berkian dragons came stampeding out of the trees, and towards the airship. Grimmel quickly jumped behind a deadly harpoon.

"Call them off Alpha," he ordered, aiming the harpoon at the Light Fury. "No reason for her to die too." Toothless was moving sluggishly due to the Deathgripper venom. But he was quick to see the harpoon being aimed at his queen, and his dragons coming to rescue him. The other riders were joining Hiccup, Astrid, and Ruffnut on the cliff. Panicking, Toothless roared at the other dragons.

"Guys no!" He ordered. The dragons stopped their attack, reluctantly.

"What are they doing?" Snotlout asked. "They can totally take him."

"Not with her life on the line," said Hiccup. The two Deathgrippers that weren't hitched to the airship, flew in circles around the two Furies. Toothless roared at them.

"Save your breath," Grimmel taunted him. "The only alpha they respond to is me." Toothless glared up at him, but then looked down helplessly at his rider. Grimmel followed his gaze. "Awe don't feel to badly. You tried your best. But you are nothing without your dragon." He whisled at the Deathgrippers. They herded the Berkian dragons after the airship, down towards the massive armada below. Toothless could hear Moon crying. He looked at her, she was really shaking.

"It's okay Moon," he told her gently. "I've been captured many times, and I've escaped every time. Hiccup will get us out."

"A-and h-how i-is he g-going to do that w-without d-dragons?" Moon sobbed. Toothless gave her an encouraging smile.

"Ah, you don't know Hiccup," he said. "He never lets me down, he always comes up with a plan. Trust me, we'll be just fine." Moon too several deep breaths and seemed to calm down a little.

High on the cliff the riders watched their dragons getting farther away. Hiccup was beside himself with guilt and worry. He started pacing around, trying to come up with something. He didn't seem to notice the others watching him.

"Oh, that's just great," said Tuffnut. Valka leaned towards Astrid.

"Go," she said. "He'll listen to you." Astrid took a deep breath and walked up to her chief. Hiccup kept pacing, but seem to notice her.

"Don't say it," he snapped, angrily.

"I wasn't going to," said Astrid calmly.

"I shouldn't have dragged you out there, he wouldn't have flown be back, she wouldn't have followed," Hiccup ranted.

"Yep," Astrid agreed.

"I feel like the same screw up I was before I met Toothless," Hiccup growled, running his hands through his hair.

"I can see that," said Astrid. Hiccup finally stopped pacing and looked at her.

"Are you just gonna stand there and agree with everything?" He asked.

"Well, you're right," said Astrid strongly. "You're back to where you started. But I was the first to believe in you. And I have watched you doubt whether you're worthy every since. But you know what, I am the person I am today because of you. I never told you that, but it's true. You are the bravest, most stubborn, most determined, knucklehead I know. Toothless didn't give you that Hiccup. He just made it..."

"Easier," Hiccup finished.

"And now, it's going to be a lot harder," said Astrid. "So, what are you going to do about it?" Hiccup gave a small smile, remembering when Astrid had said those exact words, when Stoic had forced Toothless to show him the way to Dragon Island, so many years ago.

"Probably something stupid," he said with a shrug, repeating his exact response. Astrid beamed.

"That's the Hiccup I know," she said. Hiccup kissed her, then turned to the rest of the group. His spirits had returned.

"Suit up gang," he ordered. "We're going to get them back."

"What?" Said Fishlegs, who was still holding Fishmeat.

"He's lost his mind," said Ruffnut.

"Um, how are we going to get our dragons back?" Fishlegs asked. "Without, dragons." At that moment, there came the sound of flapping wings and a dragon roared. They looked up to see Avalon and her group flying towards them, fully armored. They landed on the grass, Edelweiss dismounted Black Widow.

"Avalon, where've you guys been?" Astrid asked.

"We were exploring the island again," said Avalon. "But when Grimmel showed up, Apollo came to find us." He looked at her younger brother, who was looking pleased with himself. They'd been so focused on Grimmel that no one had noticed when Apollo had left. "I do love a good deus ex machina." Avalon beamed.

So they put their heads together. They came up with a plan to free all the dragons. The Draconians were very excited. Avalon and Eider volunteered to take on the two Deathgrippers that weren't hauling the airship. The rest of the dragons volunteered to help fight the hunters on the ships, and Edelweiss volunteered to help free the dragons. Hiccup decided to not ride the Draconian dragons, and instead fly beside them with their flightsuits. Avalon was a bit surprised, but didn't argue. The riders all pulled out the wings of their flightsuits.

"Edelweiss doesn't have a flightsuit," Fishlegs pointed out.

"I do have a dragon though," Edelweiss said. "I'll be just fine." Hiccup looked at the Draconians.

"You guys ready for this?" He asked.

"We've been prepared for this our whole lives," said Avalon confidently. "We're ready." She then turned to her friends. "Titan up." One by one the Draconains all activated their titan wing. They changed color, and seemed to swell up to twice their size. Edelweiss mounted Black Widow. They all walked to the edge of the cliff. Hiccup went over the plan one last time, mostly for the Twins' sake since they were a bit slow. The remaining dragons were snarling and gnashing their teeth.

"So jump off the cliff," said Ruffnut, looking down at her flightsuit. "In these. That's the best you've got?"

"No," Hiccup clarified. "You guys are the best I've got." Ruffnut seemed flattered by this.

"I'm with him, who else!?" She roared, before Tuffnut could. They all turned their attention back to the cliff. The dragons gripped the edge with their talons.

"Come one guys," Avalon said, enthusiastically. "Lets go have some fun." With that, they all jumped off the cliff. Edelweiss whipped out her swords.

Down on the ships Toothelss watched his subjects being loaded into cages. The hunters were wrestling Cloudjumber, who kept snarling. Toothless roared down at him, but then he heard Grimmel chuckling. Toothless looked up at him.

"That's right Alpha, no surprises," Grimmel said, sneering. Toothless glared, then turned back to Cloudjumper.

"Just go Cloudjumper," he ordered. "We'll be okay." Cloudjumper looked doubtful, but walked into his cage. Toothless looked over at Moon again. She was still crying softly.

"I want to go home," she said quietly. "Please Draco, please help us." Toothless thought of something to say to her, when he suddenly heard a faint voice.

"Hold on Toothless!" It called. Toothless looked to see the riders flying towards the armada with their flightsuits. Next to them, was Avalon and her team. They flew strait at the airship. Grimmel turned around and saw them too. He growled and aimed his harpoon at Toothless, ready to fire. But Hiccup kicked Grimmel off his seat as he flew by, Grimmel just managed to grab hold of the harpoon to keep himself from falling into the sea. Avalon and Eider flew at the two unoccupied Deathgrippers. They wrestled in mid air, using their teeth, claws, and fire. Hiccup soared around the mast of the mothership.

"Toothless!" He called again. Seeing his opportunity, Toothless turned back to Cloudjumper.

"Now!" He ordered. Cloudjumper didn't hesitate and blasted his way out of his cage. Once he was free, he freed Skullcrusher and Grump from their cages. The three of them took off to go get their riders, since they didn't have flightsuits. The riders and remaining Draconian dragons landed on the deck of the mothership, pulling out their weapons.

"Perfect timing," said Hiccup, as he lit up Inferno. The hunters ran at them with their weapons raised. Battle commenced.

The riders fought the trappers with air help from the Draconian dragons. Avalon and Eider kept the Deathgrippers from interfering. Apollo and Black Widow swooped over the ship, grabbing hunters in their talons and tossing them into the sea. Eclipse dive bombed the ships, always keeping the sun behind her so the humans wouldn't see her coming. Edelweiss darted from cage to cage, fighting hunters as she went, freeing the captured dragons. Soon Cloudjumper, Grump, and Skullcrusher returned with their riders, and they also joined the fight. The riders found they could hold their own pretty well without their dragons. Some of the dragons that were freed, joined the fight to save their king and queen.

Edelweiss had just freed the Goregutter, when she heard someone behind her. She spun round, swords drawn. A tall Chinese man faced her with a red tunic, bronze armor, and a pair of his own swords.

"And what are you doing?" He sneered. Edelweiss narrowed her eyes, tapping her claws against the blade of her swords.

"Nothing," she said. The man made is eyes narrower.

"You look familiar, have I fought you before?" The man asked suspiciously.

"No, this is my first battle you know," Edelweiss replied casually, still holding her fighting stance.

"Oh, first timer eh?" The mad said. "I still remember my first battle." He looked at Edelweiss's swords. "Those are mighty fine swords."

"Thank you, my dad gave them to me," said Edelweiss.

"And who's your dad?" The man asked. "Is he a dragon rider too?"

"Yes, Chris is his name," Edelweiss said. "He rides a Night Fury, named Windwalker." The man scowled.

"The dragon loving fool who destroyed my whole army in the east," he said angrily. Edelweiss stared at him, dumbfounded.

"You're from the Song army?" She asked.

"The last of the Song army," the man said. "The army was destroyed by your goodie father and his dragon army."

"Well, this will be a lot of fun then," Edelweiss said. She suddenly charged at her opponent, taking him off guard a bit. He just barely managed to block her attacks. They clashed swords, practically dancing around each other. Even though Edelweiss was very small compared to the man, she was really fast and strong. Edelweiss tried several times to kick his swords out of his hands, but he kept dodging her.

Meanwhile Hiccup and Astrid were fighting bad guys on another part of the ship. They managed to keep the hunters off themselves and one another. Hiccup pulled out a Zippleback grenade and tossed it to Astrid, smiling at her. She smiled back at him as she pulled out the pin with her teeth. She tossed it to a lower deck, where it kicked up a thick cloud of Zippleback gas. Hiccup smiled wider, and tossed Inferno in that same direction. The fire from the blade, ignited the gas causing a huge explosion. Hiccup and Astrid paid it no mind however, and just kept smiling at each other. Astrid then whistled and Stormfly flew at them. Hiccup grabbed onto her saddle as she flew by. They flew towards the airship.

Toothless saw them coming. He also spotted Grimmel crawling back towards his harpoon. Toothless opened his powerful jaws, and it broke the muzzle. He turned to Grimmel as he reached the harpoon. Toothless fired a plasma blast at him, it missed and hit a part of the airship. It was now spiraling towards the water, dragging the four Deathgrippers with it.

Stormfly sped up, Hiccup still clinging to her saddle. One of the unoccupied Deathgrippers had shaken his opponent for a moment, and was speeding towards the Nadder, tusks fully extended. Stormfly was on a collision course, and didn't have time to get out of the way. The Deathgripper was about to attack, when Avalon met him head on with a roar. She wrestled him away from Stormfly. The Nadder reached the airship. Hiccup jumped from her saddle, and caught the chain that held Toothless. With her part done, Stormfly flew off to help Avalon. Hiccup clung to Toothless.

"I'm coming Toothless!" He called. Grimmel jumped onto the Light Fury's back.

"You think he still cares about you?" He roared. He plugged a poison dart into the Light Fury's muzzle, making it pierce her head. "Lets just see who he follows." He then released the Light Fury, and flew her away. Toothless roared after her, helplessly. Hiccup dropped down to him and took off the ripped muzzle.

"I'm sorry Bud," Hiccup said. Toothless roared at him, as though trying to assure him he was not to blame. Hiccup began quickly getting Toothless out of his bonds, but they soon crashed into the water. A moment later Toothless came soaring out of the water, with Hiccup on his back. Toothless roared triumphantly.

"Now lets go get her," said Hiccup. They flew after Grimmel and the Light Fury, leaving the rest of the Berkians and Draconians to deal with the hunters.

The riders fought the hunters, with help from the Draconians, and the newly freed dragons. Astrid spotted Edelweiss fighting one of the warlords, all by herself. She'd given up on kicking his swords out of his hands, he was just too tall. So she instead kicked him in the groin, causing him to double over in pain. Edelweiss took the opportunity, and punched him right between his shoulders. He went down unable to move. She smiled sweetly at him, then was tackled by another hunter that she hadn't seen coming. He kicked her to the ground, knocking her swords out of her hands. He held his ax over her head, ready to bring it down. Black Widow tired to come to her aid, but was snared by a bola that caused her to crash onto the deck. Edelweiss struggled against the bigger man, but his foot wouldn't budge. She summoned all her strength when she heard the whoosh of the ax, heading for her neck. Suddenly power surged through her body, and began changing her from the inside out. The hunter was suddenly knocked off his feet, by a powerful force.

Standing where Edelweiss had been laying, was a huge white dragon. She had the head, feet, and slender body of an eastern dragon, and the wings of a western dragon. She was almost as big as the Goregutter. Her white scales simmered with gold highlights. She glared down at her opponent with angry green eyes. She snarled and shote white hot fire, burning him to nothing. Satisfied, Edelweiss turned to Black Widow who was laying nearby. She used her claws to cut the bola, and Black Widow got to her feet.

"Edel, what happened to you?" She asked. Edelweiss looked at herself, working it out.

"I, think I unlocked my tian wing," she said. "Draco said I had one. I look like a dragon, but I still feel like a human on the inside." She reared her head back, and roared. "What do you say we help finish this. Black Widow nodded in agreement. They both took off and flew over the armada, lighting it up. Edelweiss found that flying by herself came to her quite easily, as did breathing fire. Everyone was surprised by her new form, but decided to talk about it after the armada was destroyed.

Toothless and Hiccup were right behind Grimmel and the Light Fury. They flew over the island, through the grey clouds that hovered over the snowcapped peaks of the island. Toothless fried a plasma blast at Grimmel. But he moved the Light Fury, causing the blast to miss him and hit her in the wing instead. Toothless didn't fire again.

"How are we going to get him off her back without hurting her?" Hiccup wondered aloud. Suddenly they heard dragons behind them. They looked to see all six Deathgrippers flying at them. One by one they began pinning themselves to Toothless's side, causing him to slow down significantly. Toothless roared in irritation. He knew just what to do. He activated his titan wing. His spines split down his back and crackled with electricity. Hiccup was bewildered, but held on tight. The electricity covered Toothless's body, it stunned the Deathgrippers causing them to fall off. Once he was in the clear, Toothless fired another plasma blast, shot forwards, and vanished with a clap of thunder.

Grimmel looked behind him, only to see his Deathgrippers falling to the sea, and no Night Fury. Growling he scanned the area. He didn't see Toothless rematerializes right in front of the Light Fury. He turned around quickly, seeing them speeding towards him. Hiccup launched himself off Toothless's back, and opened up his flightsuit. Acting fast, Grimmel fired a dart. It missed Hiccup, but hit Toothless in the shoulder. Hiccup didn't see this, and flew at Grimmel, kicking him off the Light Fury's back. Hiccup managed to grab hold of her neck. He now spotted Toothless unconscious, and falling to his death.

"You've killed both of us!" Grimmel roared. "Fighting over a dragon, that's your plan!?"

"This is," Hiccup said. He pulled the muzzle off the Light Fury's head. "Save him." Hiccup whispered in her ear. Then, he let go. Moon spun round to see Hiccup and Grimmel falling to their deaths. Moon panicked, she had no time to lose. She flew off and managed to grab Toothless, they tumbled safely onto the cliff. She made sure he was secure on the grass, then she took off again. She dived after Hiccup, praying she wasn't too late. She spotted Hiccup and Grimmel, Grimmel was ripping Hiccup's wings off. Moon sped up, the familiar whistle filled the air. Hiccup looked up and saw her. Grimmel was now clinging to his metal leg. Hiccup saw the Light Fury coming for him, and he quickly untied his leg. It went into the water, taking Grimmel with it. Hiccup was about to go down too, when Moon grabbed him in her tiny paws. She headed back towards the cliff. She looked down and smiled at Hiccup.

"See, I knew you'd come around," Hiccup said with relief, smiling back at her. The Light Fury flew to the cliff, set Hiccup down on the grass, then landed. All around them the rescued dragons landed as well. The riders and Draconians landed last. Edelweiss was still in her titan wing form as she landed on the grass. She noticed Fishlegs staring at her, with wide eyes. Once she landed, she returned to her human form. Everyone was cheering after their victory. Edelweiss hugged all her friends, and they hugged her back. Moon approached them.

"Hello Moon," said Avalon. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine now," Moon said. "Thank you for coming to our rescue Avalon."

"You're quite welcome," said Avalon smiling. "I'm glad we were able to help. I'm glad we finally got to fight in a real battle." Edelweiss unexpectedly threw her arms around Moon's neck. Moon tensed in surprise.

"I'm glad you guys are okay," Edelweiss said. "That was so horrible." Moon sighed.

"It was," she agreed. "But it's over now." Avalon could tell Moon was not comfortable with the contact. She put a talon gently on Edel's shoulder. Edelweiss let go and went to stand beside Avalon.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"You're fine," Moon said. "You just caught me off guard is all." She turned her attention to Hiccup and Toothless.

Hiccup crawled over to Toothless, who was just starting to come round. Hiccup gently touched his muzzle. Toothless stirred at he contact.

"Hey, morning Bud," Hiccup said softly. He crawled next to Toothless and put his big head in his lap. Toothless crooned, opening his eyes half way. "Wow, you are full of surprises." Toothless smiled sleepily. Hiccup spotted the Light Fury approaching them. He slowly got to his feet, stroking the female's head.

"He's all yours," Hiccup told her. She crooned gratefully. Hiccup got up and hopped away. Astrid quickly grabbed him before he fell over, letting him lean on her.

Moon approached Toothless, and nuzzled him.

"Waky waky, my Sweet Tooth," Moon cooed. Toothless smiled at her, and nuzzled her back.

"Thank you Moon," he said, groggily. "For saving Hiccup." Moon smiled back at him.

"You were right," she said. "There are some humans worth saving. And I knew you're be very upset if he'd been lost. Can you get up?" Toothless rolled so his feet were under him. The drug was wearing off fast, so he pulled himself up with some help from Moon.

"I'm all right," he said. Moon nuzzled him, purring.

"You have some amazing friends," she said.

"I do indeed," Toothless agreed, nibbling her neck. "And now they're your friends too." Moon blushed. Toothless suddenly spotted Hiccup and Astrid watching them. He made eye contact with Hiccup, who smiled sadly at him. Toothless then looked out to the horizon, then back at his rider. Hiccup knew what he was asking, he wanted to back to the Hidden World.

"Hey Moon, will you give me a moment?" Toothless asked. Moon followed his gaze.

"Of course," she said quietly. "Take all the time you need." She walked over and stood beside Avalon and her friends. Toothless walked over to Hiccup, who let go of Astrid and hopped up to him. Toothless gave a small concerned coo. Hiccup held his head in his hands, and looked into his big eyes.

"You right Bud, it's time" he said. He blinked rapidly, keeping tears at bay. "I was so busy fighting for a world that I wanted. I didn't think about what you needed." He looked over at the Light Fury, who was smiling at him patiently. Hiccup looked back at Toothless, stroking his cheek. "You've looked after us for long enough." He lowered his voice. "Time to look after yourselves." He gave a small smile. They looked at the other riders and dragons.

Astrid looked at her Stormfly. She went over to her, and with a heavy heart, unbuckled her saddle, and pulled it down. Then Astrid stroked her beak sadly.

"Oh Stormfly," she croaked. "My good girl." Stormfly squawked and nuzzled her. Gobber was removing Grump's saddle.

"All right Grumpy," he said. "Of you go." Next to him Eret pulled Skullcrusher's saddle off.

"So long, you big ugly beast," Eret said. "I'll miss you." Skullcrusher looked like he was trying not to cry. Valka stroked Cloudjumper's snout, since she didn't have a saddle to remove.

"Oh, Cloudjumper," she sighed. The Stormcutter nuzzled her, crooning sadly. Edelweiss stood between Avalon and Moon, watching all the riders removing their saddles and saying good bye to her dragons. She couldn't help but feel so sorry for them. These dragons and vikings had been together for a very long time, and this was a very hard thing for them to do. Edelweiss sniffed and wiped the tears from her eye.

When all the dragons were unsaddled, they all looked back at Hiccup and Toothless, it was now their turn to say good bye. Hiccup placed his hand on Toothless's head.

"Go on Bud," he whispered. "Lead them to the Hidden World. You'll be safe there." Toothless looked at him again. "Safer then you could ever be with me." Toothless nuzzled him, and Hiccup laid his head on the dragon's big head. "It's okay, I love you too. And I want you to be free." He let go of Toothless and took a step back. "Our world doesn't deserve you, yet." Toothless looked at him for a long time. Then he sat on his haunches, and used his front paws to pull Hiccup into a tight hug. Hiccup hugged him back tightly, the tears now flowing from his eyes. He buried his face into the Night Fury's warm, dark, scales and listened to his strong heartbeat. After what felt like an eternity, Toothless let go of him and wormed his head into Hiccup's hands.

"Go Toothless," Hiccup croaked. "Go." He kept his eyes closed, and let go of Toothless keeping one hand on his snout. Both their minds went back, to that day in the Cove so many years ago, when they first became friends. Small, shy Hiccup had reached his hand out and Toothless had placed his nose into his palm. Neither of them would forget that day. Hiccup took a deep breath, and slowly lowered his hand. He looked at Toothless and Toothless looked back at him with grateful eyes. He looked behind him at Moon again, who smiled and nodded. Then Toothless let out a thundering roar that seemed to shake the whole island. The dragons all roared back, indicating they were ready to go. Moon and Avalon looked at each other. Then Avalon nudged Edelweiss, who turned and climbed into her saddle. Then the two female dragons spread their wings and took off. The other dragons soon followed, including the rest of Avalon's group. All the dragons followed the queen; Hookfang, Barf and Belch, Meatlug and Fishmeat, Stormfly, Cloudjumper, Skullcrusher, Grump, all of them. Toothless stood at the edge of the cliff, watching them all go. When they had all flown away, Toothless took one last look at Hiccup, at his old life, knowing he was leaving it forever. He may never remember this island, but he was determined to never forget Hiccup. He gave a half smile, then he turned, spread his wings, and took off back to the wild.


	6. End of the Beginning

Chapter 6

The dragons flew high over the ocean. The sun was setting behind them. Avalon and her friends were at the front of the convoy with Toothless and Moon. Edelweiss sat on Avalon saddle, wiping her eyes with her handkerchief. For a while no one spoke, their hearts still heavy from the good byes. The Draconians didn't even sing like they normally would. Toothless finally looked over at Avalon.

"Well Princess," he said. "You guys did a great job in that battle. I almost didn't recognize you at first."

"Oh, stop it," Avalon said bashfully. "We were only helping the riders, most of it was Hiccup's idea."

"It's true," said Stormfly. "You really saved my tail from that Deathgripper Avalon. You guys really did your parents proud." Hookfang looked at Edelweiss, who was still crying into her handkerchief.

"What's wrong Edel?" He asked. "What are you crying for?"

"I'm sorry," Edelweiss said. "It was just so emotional, watching you guys say good bye to your human friends. I wish you didn't have to."

"Oh, we do too," said Cloudjumper. "But it's better for them, and for us. We don't have to worry about our humans getting hurt on our behalf."

"I know," said Edelweiss. "It was still hard to watch." She sniffed and wiped her eyes clean. Avalon turned to Apollo.

"So Apollo, you're the only one from my group that has been to Draco's Nest," she said. Apollo's eyes lit up.

"Yeah, you guys are going to love this place," he said. "It makes your scales change colors, really cool." He went off on every detail of his visit. Stormfly, Toothless, and Moon filled in any gaps. Edelweiss cheered up hearing this. Everyone was looking forward to seeing it.

"There might be a problem though Toothless," said Moon.

"What's that?" Toothless asked.

"Draco's Nest doesn't have human food," said Moon. "There won't be anything for Edel to eat, the food their is for dragons and it could make her really sick."

"Ooh, I didn't think of that," Toothless said. "Edel, do you have any food left?" Edelweiss looked through Avalon saddle bags, only finding the last golden apple from her mother's tree. She looked through the saddle bags of her other dragons. They were empty.

"Looks like I've eaten it all but this apple," she said, worried. "And it's the last apple from my mother's tree."

"Hmm, we might have to send you back to Draconia early," Toothless said. Edelweiss stared at him.

"But I want to see Draco's Nest," she said. "I can just skip food."

"Absolutely not," said Avalon firmly. "I don't want you to starve. We'll got to Draco's Nest and spend the night. Then come morning, one of us we'll fly you home." Moon saw that Edelweiss was about to start crying again.

"But you're welcome to visit us as much as you want," she said gently. "You'll just need to bring your own food."

"You will visit us won't you?" Toothless asked.

"Sure," said Edelweiss.

"You should visit us too," said Avalon. "We're neighbors now."

"It's a deal," said Toothless.

"And it seems that you and you parents will be getting the dragons all to yourselves now," said Hookfang to Edelweiss. She giggled.

"Yeah, it'll be so weird," she said. She stroked Avalon's neck. "Will you guys come back to Draconia with me tomorrow?" Avalon sighed.

"Well, we plan to stay for at least one other day," she said. "And explore the nest a bit." Edelweiss's face fell.

"We'll fly you home," Toothless volunteered. "I've promised Tenor and those guys that I'd introduce them to Moon. It'll be a great opportunity."

"If it's okay with you Avalon," said Moon.

"I don't mind at all," said Avalon. "You're welcome to her." Edelweiss smiled and stretched her limbs. Toothless turned to his friend.s

"So, how did Avalon do in my absence?" He asked.

"She did pretty good," said Stormfly. "I can tell delegation will be her specialty." Avalon blushed and smiled. "Though I think she was a little too determined to please you. She wouldn't eat or sleep the whole time, and spend all her time making sure we were happy and comfortable. She was trying so hard to prove herself." Toothless turned to Avalon.

"You okay Avalon?" He asked.

"I'm fine," Avalon answered.

"Remember, it's much harder to be a leader if you don't take care of yourself," Toothless said wisely.

"I know," said Avalon. "I guess I was trying really hard to not be the Red Death."

"Don't worry Princess," said Hookfang. "You're a far cry from the Red Death." Avalon smiled with relief.

The sun vanished beneath the horizon. The dragons fell silent, except for the Draconians who were singing again. But after a while, even they fell silent for a bit. Avalon suddenly felt Edelweiss leaning heavily on her neck, and heard you yawn. Avalon looked over her wing. Edelweiss looked like she was about to pass out.

"You okay Edel?" She asked, worried.

"I'm so sleepy," Edelweiss said sleepily. "I guess that battle took a lot out of me." She yawned again.

"How much farther to the waterfall?" Avalon asked Moon.

"Oh, it's quite a ways still," said Moon. Avalon looked back at Edelweiss, she was swaying dangerously. Avalon worried she was going to fall off.

"Ooo, she's going to miss everything if she falls asleep now," Apollo complained.

"It's fine Apollo," said Avalon. "She'll be able to see the Nest, she'll probably wake up in it." Suddenly she felt Edelweiss lean dangerously to one side. Avalon panicked and tried to keep Edelweiss centered in the saddle. Edelweiss was finding it really hard to keep her eyes open. She clutched the saddle, but her grip was weakening.

"Hang on Edel," said Avalon, still panicking. "We'll be there soon."

"I can't," Edelweiss moaned. She shook her head to wake herself up, but her mind was shutting down. She leaned more heavily on Avalon's neck.

"I wish there was somewhere for her to lay down," Avalon said, she was getting frantic. "I don't think she'll last much longer." Then Edelweiss passed out, and fell sideways off the saddle. Toothless quickly flew under her, and she fell safely onto his back. Avalon breathed a sigh of relief. Edelweiss adjusted herself so she was more comfortable.

"That was close," said Apollo. "We can wake her up when we get there."

"No, we'll let her sleep," said Avalon. "She needs her rest. Humans don't have as much stamina as we do." Toothless flew back to his spot beside Moon. Edelweiss patted Toothless's neck grateful. He purred at her touch.

"Hey Toothless," Edelweiss whispered.

"Hmmm?" Toothless answered.

"Don't forget Hiccup," Edelweiss said. "It would be too sad." Toothless smiled softly.

"Well, don't you worry," he said. "I don't think I can ever forget Hiccup, not completely." Edelweiss smiled and fell asleep.

The stars came out. The Constellation Draco shone down on them. The Draconian dragons sang more songs. Some of the other dragons sang along with them. Edelweiss stayed asleep. Moon announced that they were almost there. The convoy grew excited the closer they got. The sky suddenly lit up with Aurora's Fire, which were red and gold. It lit their way to the Great Waterfall.

"Do those lights appear over the Great Waterfall every night?" Cloudjumper asked.

"Yes," said Moon. "But every night, they look different. I love coming to the surface to see them." She led the way to the Great Waterfall.

"Oh, wow!" Avalon exclaimed, looking at it. "That's huge." The dragons all goggled at the waterfall for a few moments, as the flew into it. The Draconians looked down into the abyss, which glowed red orange.

"How far down does that go?" Black Widow asked.

"It's said that it goes clear down to the center of the Earth," Moon said. "Lord Draco has full control over the fires down there, so if anything threatens our home, the volcano erupts. He wanted this place to be unreachable from everyone, including the human gods. We will all be safe here."

"Looks big enough to swallow the whole ocean," said Eider. "Actually, I don't think I've ever even heard of a waterfall in the middle of the ocean."

"It is very unusual," Moon agreed. "But this waterfall isn't nearly as impressive as inside the Nest." She smiled and headed for the tunnel. They followed her into it.

They were blown away when they saw the interior. They flew between the all, rock pillars. The local dragons cheerfully welcomed back their king and queen, and the newcomers. Avalon noticed that the colorful lights made all the dragons glow in crazy colors and patterns. Toothless was glowing neon blue, except for his mechanical tail fin. Moon seemed to be covered in glowing, white tiger stripes. She also had a pair of glowing, white love hearts on her forehead. Avalon looked at her friends. Apollo glowed bright gold, as though thousands of fireflies had landed on his body and wings. Eider had spots of vivid violet blue. Black Widow and Eclipse were glowing in a similar pattern as Toothless, except Black Widow was glowing red and Eclipse purple. Avalon looked at herself. Her scales had a jade green glow that formed feathery patterns all over her body and wings. Even Edelweiss' s small patches of scales were glowing blue white.

"Wow, this place is a ton of fun isn't it," she said.

"I told you you'd love it," said Apollo.

"We must be miles under the ocean surface," said Hookfang, looking up at the ceiling that wasn't there. "How big is this place?"

"It's as big as the ocean itself," Toothless said. "Even bigger than Draconia." Avalon rolled her eyes. She then spotted the look on Eider's face.

"What's wrong Eider?" She asked.

"I remember this place," he gasped. "I didn't recognize it until we came in here. But I defiantly recognize it now. This is where I hatched." They all gapped at him.

"You hatched here?" Apollo asked, shocked.

"Yes, I remember seeing these lights when I first broke out of the egg," Eider said, beaming. "I've found it at last."

"I thought your name sounded familiar," Moon said. "You're Pyrria and Taipan's hatchling."

"Yes, did you know them?" Eider asked.

"Not personally," said Moon. "But I heard of them. News travels fast here."

"Maybe tomorrow you can find your hatching spot," said Avalon.

"I plan to look tomorrow," said Eider. He looked excited. Moon glanced over at Edelweiss, who was still fast asleep.

"I think we should get that human to bed Sweet Tooth," she said, grinning. "I know just where we can put her."

"I agree," Toothless said. "Kind of surprised flying in here hasn't woken her up."

"Edelweiss is a heavier sleeper than any dragon I've met," said Avalon. She laughed. "Except when she has nightmares."

They all headed towards the Sunstone Chamber. The dragons from the convoy began to split up to find their own places to stay. Toothless and Avalon led their friends to the center of the Nest, to the Sunstone Chamber. They flew through the crystal archway.

"Hey, what happened to the sunstone?" Apollo asked. "It's gone dark." The towering sunstone was no longer glowing. Instead it looked like a cold, pale iceberg.

"The sunstone is enchanted," Moon explained. "It only glows during the daytime, and goes dark at night."

"Good thing too," said Toothless. "If it glowed all the time, none of us would get any sleep." He chuckled. He headed up to the crystal stalactite and landed on a giant flat mushroom. The other dragons landed next to him and the entered into the center of the stalactite, which was hallow. More giant, flat mushrooms were stacked like shelves along the crystal walls. The floor was made of a granite-like rock. It was plenty big enough for all the dragons.

"Wow, this is where you live now?" Hookfang asked, looking around.

"Yes," said Toothless. "I think Lord Draco himself lived in this hallow, when this Nest was bran new." He went over to one of the mushrooms that was the perfect size for Edelweiss. Avalon followed him and helped slide Edelweiss onto it, and made sure she was comfortable.

"There we go," Toothless said, satisfied "This can be her spot for whenever you guys bring her here."

"It's perfect," said Avalon. "Thank you Toothless. She's going to be real surprised when she wakes up. I think she'll really like it here." She nuzzled Edelweiss. Then she glanced around the space. "Wow, this place makes my castle look a bit run of the mill."

"Well, your castle was created by Draco too," said Toothless. He yawned. "We can talk more tomorrow, we should get some sleep." The others agreed. They found a spot to curl up. Avalon used her magic to great another large patch of moss and ferns. She and her friends curled up in their usual huddle. Toothless warmed a patch of stone near where Edelweiss was sleeping, he made it big enough for both him and Moon. The two of them snuggled close to each other, and everyone fell asleep.

Edelweiss woke up sometime later, from a very sad dream. She took several deep breaths, realizing tears were running down her face. She wiped her eyes. Then she noticed her surroundings. She was laying on a giant mushroom, next to the wall which was made of solid crystal. There was a hole next to her head that looked out of the pale, white, sunstone and the chamber around it. Edelweiss looked around the space she'd found herself in. Her dragon friends were sleeping nearby, Toothless and Moon were sleeping next to her mushroom bed. Seeing them, made Edelweiss remember her dream and she started crying again.

"Avalon?" She whimpered, wiping her eyes again. Avalon stayed asleep. Edelweiss tried calling her again, nothing. She tried calling one of the other dragons, they all stayed asleep. Edelweiss curled into a ball and cried into the knees. The sound soon roused Avalon, who got to her feet.

"Hey Edel, you okay?" She whispered. Edelweiss sniffed and wiped her eyes again. Avalon nuzzled her, and she hugged the dragon's neck. "What's wrong?"

"Had a sad dream," Edelweiss said. She looked around the room. "Where are we?"

"We're in Draco's Nest," said Avalon. "You fell asleep before we arrived."

"Oh," Edelweiss said. She calmed down and finally stopped crying. "I'm okay now." Avalon licked her tears away.

"You think you can go back to sleep?" She asked. "It's still several hours til sunrise."

"I think so," said Edelweiss. She laid back down on her mushroom bed. "Sorry I woke you." Avalon snorted disapprovingly.

"Hey, non of that," she said sternly. "It's my job to take care of everyone on my team, you included." Edelweiss took a deep breath. Avalon nuzzled her again. "Try to go back to sleep. We're right here if you need us." She went back to the huddle, and laid down. "Toothless said that can be your spot for when you come here. You like it?"

"Never slept on a mushroom before," Edelweiss said. She closed her eyes. "Good night my queen." Avalon paused for a moment.

"Good night Edel," she said, sounding pleased. She fell asleep, and Edelweiss soon followed.

The sunstone lit up the whole chamber with bright sunlight. The dragons woke up one by one. Edelweiss and Avalon were the last to wake up. Edelweiss sat up on her mushroom bed, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Morning guys," Toothless yawned. "Did you all sleep okay?"

"We did," said Apollo. Then he smacked his lips. "So what is there to eat around here?"

"You'll find the food here takes some getting used to," said Moon. "No fresh fish I'm afraid." At the mention of food, Edelweiss's stomach rumbled. They all looked at her.

"Are we sure there's no food here for Edel?" Avalon asked.

"Unfortunately there's not," Toothless said. "I don't think it'll kill her, but it will make her very sick." Edelweiss looked sad again. "And on a similar note. Edel, I do have some rules for you when you're here. I don't mean to pick on you or anything, I just don't want you getting hurt. You're more venerable here than we are." Edelweiss said nothing, and nodded. "Firstly; don't leave this stalactite alone, you should always have a dragon with you. And don't go anywhere without telling me or Moon. Can you do that?"

"Yes sir," said Edelweiss, quietly. Her stomach growled again. She clutched it, it was starting hurt.

"I think it's time we get you home," said Moon. She turned to Toothless. "I can fly her home while you show these other dragons around." They all looked at her surprised.

"Are you sure?" Edelweiss asked. "You do know I'll have ride on your back."

"Yes I know," said Moon. "But I've seen the way you ride your dragons, I know I can trust you. I know the way to Draconia's western coast." She stretched her wings. "I should eat something before we go." Apollo licked his lips again.

"You can wait downstairs until we get back," Toothless told Edelweiss. She nodded and mounted Avalon. They all flew out of the stalactite and into the Sunstone Chamber. Avalon landed on top of the sunstone and Edelweiss dismounted. She sat down as Avalon joined the other dragons. Toothless and Moon lead them to a patch of small mushrooms that was within sight of the sunstone.

Edelweiss sat on top of the sunstone, watching the dragons grazing below. Her stomach growled again, but she ignored it. Dragons flew all around the chamber. They spotted her sitting on their king's throne, and circled around the sunstone. Edelweiss could tell they weren't happy. Suddenly a pink Thunderdrum sped at her with its mouth opened wide. She ducked as the Thunderdrum shot over her head. Then a wild Monstrous Nightmare flew at her aggressively, and almost took her head off had she not gotten out of the way. More dragons circled closer to the sunstone, Edelweiss was feeling claustrophobic.

"Our king and queen seems to have picked up a stray human," sneered a purple Monstrous Nightmare.

"Well King Toothless spent half his life as a sort of pet to the humans," said a silver Rumblehorn. "I suppose it's no surprise that he'd bring one into our safe paradise." He smacked Edelweiss with his wing, almost knocking her off the sunstone. She thought about fighting back, but she was badly outnumbered. So she jumped off the sunstone, and bounded down to the floor of the chamber. The dragons charged after her. She ran to a hole in the crystals and darted into it, just managing avoid the deadly claws swiping at her. The hole was too small for the dragons to go through, but Edelweiss was now trapped.

"Come out of there human," one dragon demanded. "You can't stay in there forever." They all were swiping their claws and snapping their teeth at her. Edelweiss closed her eyes. Suddenly she heard a commotion outside.

"Will you crazies get lost," said an unfamiliar voice. "Why don't you bullies go pick on some one your own size." The dragons all flew away, hissing in protest. Edelweiss opened her eyes, and saw that the coast was clear. She cautiously crawled out. She spotted the dragon that had come to her rescue.

He was absolutely stunning. He had the legs, neck, head, and talons of a Whippertail, the black teeth of a Blackfang, and the body, tail, fins, sonar flaps, eyes, and sparkling white scales of a Light Fury. His eyes were a rich golden yellow, and there was a very faint row of diamond shapes down his back and neck that were the same color. He was as tall as Eider. He smiled down at Edelweiss and sat on his haunches.

"Are you alright miss?" He asked.

"Yes, thank you," said Edelweiss.

"I seems folks around here seemed to have forgotten how to treat guests of the king and queen," the dragon said. He cleared his throat. "Name's Diamondback. Named after one of the great kings of Draconia."

"I'm Edelweiss Dragonborn," said Edelweiss. "You're half Light Fury."

"Yes," said Diamondback. "My mother's a Light Fury, and my father's a Whipfang."

"Cool," said Edelweiss. "You kind of remind me of my Great Uncle Tenor. He's half Night Fury. Only you're way younger." At that moment Toothless, Moon, and Edelweiss's friends landed next to them.

"Everything okay Diamondback?" Moon asked.

"Yes your majesty," said Diamondback. "I caught some dragons bullying this poor creature." He nudged Edelweiss.

"Thank you sir," said Avalon. Diamondback smiled and nodded.

"You're the Draconian Princess," he said. Avalon nodded.

"Well, I need to get Edelweiss home," said Moon. "Toothless will be staying here to show our new allies around."

"I can show them around your majesty," said Diamondback. "No reason for the two of you to split, after what I heard happened in the human world."

"You sure?" Moon asked. Diamondback nodded. "Very well. Are you ready to head home Edel?" Edelweiss felt her stomach rumble again.

"Yes ma'am," she said. "Who's going to look after this place?"

"We are," said Avalon. "It's only for a day. We'll head home tomorrow." Moon walked over to Edelweiss and lowered herself down. Edelweiss hesitated for a moment, then she gave all her friends a good bye hug.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow then," she said.

"We'll bring you back here after the coronation," said Avalon. "And after I make some serious upgrades to the great hall." She pulled out the last golden apple. Edelweiss hugged her again, then climbed onto Moon's back. Moon rolled her shoulders, still not accustomed to having a human on her back. Edelweiss held on as the two Furies took off. They left the Sunstone Chamber. Diamondback turned to Avalon.

"So what do you guys want see first?" He asked.

"I think first you should introduce yourself first," Avalon said, looking him up and down.

"Oh right," said Diamondback. "My name's Diamondback."

"Diamondback?" Black Widow. "As in King Diamondback?"

"Yes," said Diamondback. "I think he was one of my father's great uncles or something. You're a descendant of his aren't you Princess?"

"I am," said Avalon. "Who's your father?"

"He's a Whipfang named Snakeroot," said Diamondback. "Anyway, what do you guys want to see first?"

"Well, I was hoping to find where I hatched down here," said Eider. Diamondback looked at him.

"You're Eider right?" He asked. "Taipan and Pyrria's dragonet. News travels fast around here." Eider looked back at him.

"That's right," he said.

"Pyrria's my father's sister," said Diamondback. "She's my aunt. So I guess that makes you my cousin." Eider looked shocked at this. "How is my aunt? We didn't hear from you guys after you left the nest."

"They're dead," Eider said, glumly. "They were shot down by dragon slayers."

"Oh, I see," said Diamondback. "I'm real sorry to hear that. So you're an orphan?" Eider nodded. "Well, I can show you your hatch site. I know where it is." He turned and flew off. The Draconians followed him.

They left the Sunstone Chamber and flew between the stone pillars. The local dragons shouted hello as they passed. Diamondback headed to one of the pillars that was covered in glowing green crystals and glowing purple anemones. He landed on a large ledge that had glowing ferns and mushrooms on it. Eider recognized it at once. It was his home.

"Will you guys give me a moment?" He asked.

"Sure," said Avalon. "We'll meet you back at the sunstone." They turned and took off again. Eider walked around the ledge. He could feel his parents' presence there, and felt the tears in his eyes. He laid down on the ferns, and put he head under his wing. He let all the memories of his parents play through his mind.

Meanwhile; Toothless, Moon, and Edelweiss had reached the tunnel that led outside. Edelweiss was mesmerized by Draco's Nest. So many lights and so many colors.

"Wow, no wonder you wanted to come back here so bad," she said.

"I'm glad you like it," said Moon. "Now that you've seen my home, you mind showing me yours?"

"Sure," said Edelweiss. They reached the end of the tunnel and came out into the crater. Edelweiss was mesmerized again by the massive waterfall. "Whoa that's the biggest waterfall I've ever seen." They flew out of the falls and over the ocean. Edelweiss looked back and stared at the waterfall.

"That's what I thought when I first saw it," Toothless said. "I'm pretty sure it's the biggest in the world." They picked up the pace and headed for Draconia.

They soon reached the northwestern coast. It was lined with towering cliffs, that were honeycombed. The holes were plenty big enough to house families of dragons. The two Furies headed up the coast towards the castle. They passed many dragons going in different directions. They also passed giant eagles and griffins. Soon they reached the lagoon where the castle was located. They changed course and headed for Mt. Vulcan. They flew over the island, and headed for the lake. Toothless let out a roar, announcing their arrival. He led the way to the small, blue cabin on the lake shore. The only dragons there were Re and Aurora. They were dozing in the shade but glanced up when the two Furies landed on the grass.

"Hello Toothless," said Re. "Wow, Tenor wasn't kidding. You do look a bit different without all your gear on."

"And you must be Moon," said Aurora.

"Yes," said Moon. "You're Queen Aurora, and King Re. It's so nice to meet you finally." She smiled.

"It's nice to meet you too," said Re.

"We brought your granddaughter home," Moon said. "Draco's Nest doesn't have the right food for her."

"Ah, yes," said Aurora. "Draco knew that would be a problem. Unfortunately, he can't have human food grow there without changing the whole ecosystem. So he asked me to create a few passageways that link the two kingdoms. I've already started on them, one of them will start on this island." Edelweiss got off Moon and ran over to her grandparents. She hugged them, and they both hugged her back.

"Welcome home little flower," said Aurora. "How about we get you something to eat, while we wait for your parents to return from their ride." Edelweiss nodded, her stomach growled. Aurora got to her feet and led Edelweiss to the house. Toothless turned to Re.

"What has been going on here?" He asked.

"Hmm, well not much," Re said. "Although Eider's foster mother Harmony, has just discovered she's with egg." He beamed.

"Oh wow," Toothless said.

"Eider has a foster mother?" Moon asked, confused.

"I guess Eider and his friends forgot to tell you that Eider's an orphan," Toothless said. "His parents were killed by poachers when he was a young dragonet. Ruby and Harmony took him under their wing shortly afterwords."

"Oh no," said Moon sadly. "Poor guy. His parents lived in Draco's Nest for a time, it's where he hatched. Pyrria and Taipan were highly thought of."

"Wow," said Re. "It sounds like you're all a pretty close knit community down there."

"Yes, much like you Draconians up here," Moon said. She laid down on the soft grass. "It's so green here." She glanced around the lake, at the towering trees.

"It's the volcanic soil, things grow very well here," said Re. He laid down as well, as did Toothless. They talked about all that had happened in the last few days.

Soon Edelweiss and Aurora returned. Edelweiss was munching on a ham and cheese sandwich. She was happy again, now that she was home and found something to eat. Aurora sat beside her mate. Edelweiss stayed standing, sandwich in hand, not sure who to sit next to. She eventually sat on a nearby boulder. Aurora joined in the conversation. Edelweiss decided to let the grown ups talk in peace. She finished her sandwich, then watched the lake. A Shivertooth dragon was swimming in the warm lake water, looking for frogs to eat.

"So, Edel," said Re, she turned to face him. "You unlocked your titan wing."

"I did," Edelweiss confirmed. "Though I find it takes a lot of my energy."

"They more you use it, the more your body will adapt," said Aurora. "Can we see?" Edelweiss hesitated for a moment. They were all watching her.

"Well, okay," she said. She took a deep breath and jumped off the rock. She closed her eyes and remembered the feeling of being trapped and helpless. It surged through her and morphed into her dragon form. She glanced down at the others, wishing she wasn't such a big dragon.

"An eastern dragon," said Aurora in amazement.

"Sort of," said Edelweiss, spreading her wings. "Eastern dragons don't have wings."

"Only because they have magic," said Aurora.

"Eastern dragons exist?" Moon asked. "I though they were just legends."

"They don't live on Earth," said Aurora. "But they are very much real. They have powerful magic over spirits, as well as wind and water." Edelweiss examined herself. Due to the urgency of the battle, she hadn't had time to so.

Her limbs were rodent like. Her body was as thick and slender as that of the Screaming Death. When the sunlight hit her white scales it made them sparkle like a thousand diamonds, highlighted with gold. Down her back and neck were golden shark-like fins that gleamed metallic in the sunlight. Her long flowing tail looked more like the tail of a sea snake. Her wings were like giant, white sails, and were narrow more like the shape of a falcon's wings. She looked down at her fingers and tows again; they ended in bronzed colored talons. Finally she glanced at her reflection in the lake. She'd never met an eastern dragon, though she'd seen pictures of them all over the castle. They always had thick crocodilian snouts, with flowing manes, deer-like antlers, and spiky brows. However, her head looked nothing like that. Except for her scales, and her eyes, nothing said reptile. Her head looked more canine, like a wolf or a badger. She had the ears of a fruit bat, and a pair of long, twisted golden horns that reminded her of a unicorn's horn. Extending from her upper lip was a pair of long, white, flowing tendrils. She curled her lip and showed her lion-like teeth.

"Are you okay Edel?" Aurora asked, bringing Edelweiss back to Earth. She turned and faced the other dragons.

"I'm fine Grandmother," she said. "I'm just not used to being like this. Perhaps I'll stay in this form until Avalon and the others get back."

"That sounds like a great idea," said Aurora. Edelweiss took a deep breath. She was now curious as to what sort of sounds she made. She let out a roar so loud, it startled her even. It sounded ape-like, and so thunderous it created ripples on the lake. She looked stunned and placed a talon over her mouth.

"Wow, that was loud," she said. "Even for me." She looked at her grandparents. "Where are my parents? I want to show them this."

"They're still out flying," said Aurora. "I don't think they plan on coming back until tonight."

"I can go find them," she said. She started to spread her wings.

"No, they're on a romantic flight," said Re. "They'd prefer to be left in peace." He thought a moment. "How about you come help us prepare for Avalon's coronation?" Edelweiss considered.

"All right," she said. She looked at the two Furies. "You guys can go back to your home if you want to."

"I want to see more of this place," said Moon. "We'll go back tomorrow."

"We plan to crown Avalon as soon a she and her friends come back," said Aurora. "Which will be in the morning."

"I'm excited," said Edelweiss. She pawed the ground. "I hope my parents come back soon."

"They will," said Aurora. They all got to their feet and took off. Edelweiss followed them.

While they set up the castle for the coronation, Edelweiss showed Moon and Toothless around the city of Bluegreen. Everyone was very surprised to see the two Furies, and the big eastern dragon. While touring the city, Edelweiss told the dragons to spread the word about the coming coronation. Everyone was excited. Word spread very quickly, throughout the country. The castle's entrance and great hall was decorated. Aurora knew Avalon loved peacocks, and added plenty of peacock decorations. Edelweiss came back and lent a wing. She kept an eye out for her parents as the sun began to set. She was starting to miss them.

Soon the castle was ready. Re and Aurora offered Toothless and Moon a place to sleep in the castle. They accepted gratefully. Edelweiss was undecided where she should sleep. She didn't know where her parents would land. She asked her grandmother.

"They'll be heading back here to the castle," said Aurora. "Perhaps you can stay in this form for the coronation,"

"I was planning to," said Edelweiss. "Then turn back into my human form right afterwords." She yawned and laid down on the floor of the great hall. But then she heard dragons landing outside, and got up again. "Mama, Daddy!" She shrank back into her human form, so her parents would recognize her. Outside; Tenor and Windwalker had landed on the darkening lawn. Chris and Serenity were dismounting. Edelweiss ran up and threw her arms around her mother.

"Edel, you're back," Serenity said, surprised. She hugged her daughter.

"Yeah, Draco's Nest has no human food," Edelweiss explained. "So Toothless and Queen Moon brought me back here." She let go of her mother, and hugged her father.

"Hi Edel," Chris said, hugging her back. "How'd things go on Berk?"

"Very well, and it was kind of sad," said Edelweiss. At that moment Re, Aurora, and the two Furies came outside. They all turned to acknowledge them. The first thing they noticed was Moon.

"You must be Moon," said Windwalker.

"And you must be Windwalker," said Moon. "And Tenor. It's such an honor to meet the parents of those heroic, young dragons." She sat on her haunches. "They're so much like you."

"We're glad they got to help you guys," said Re. Serenity looked over at Moon.

"You're very beautiful," she said.

"Thank you," said Moon, blushing. "Should we go back inside, we can tell stories before we fall asleep. They agreed and headed back inside.

They made their way up to Re and Aurora's room at the top of the castle. Serenity, Chris and both their dragons heard everything that had happened in the human world. Edelweiss told how she unlocked her titan wing. At the end of the stories Serenity looked over at Toothless.

"I'm sorry you had to say good bye to Hiccup," she said softly. "That must have been so hard." Toothless sighed.

"It was," Toothless admitted. "But we're still best friends and nothing will change that; not distance, not time, not even death." He held his head high.

"You'll see him again," said Aurora. "I don't need to have magic visions to know that. You'll be flying together again before you know it." Toothless smiled at her.

With the stories told, the time came for everyone to head to bed. Chris, Serenity, and Edelweiss went to their rooms in the castle. Tenor and Windwalker headed for Tenor's observatory. Moon and Toothless decided to sleep in the room Serenity used to live in. Finally Re and Aurora headed up to their room. When they got there, they looked down at the dark landscape. Aurora sat on her haunches and leaned into Re's shoulder. She took a deep breath.

"Our last night as King and Queen," she said. Re sighed.

"Yes, apart of me doesn't really want it to end," he said. Aurora nuzzled him. "But the rest of me is excited for retirement." He smiled. "Perhaps we'll make a trip to New Berk."

"I can foresee that we will go there," Aurora said. "For Hiccup and Astrid's wedding. I foresee that you will be the one they ask to officiate it."

"Yes, Hiccup asked me once if I would," Re said. He nuzzled Aurora "It's been such a fun reign hasn't it?"

"It has," Aurora agreed. "And it's been a long one. I'm ready for retirement." She yawned. "Well, big day tomorrow. We should get some rest." Re nodded in agreement. They climbed into their round, white bed.

"I remember our coronation," he said. "It feels like only yesterday. It has been a long reign. But I also feel like it's flown by so fast." He looked a touch sad.

"Yes," Aurora agreed. "But that being said, our lives are far from over." Re nuzzled her again, and pulled her closer to him with his wing.

"We'll still be together right?" He asked, nibbling her neck.

"For all eternity," Aurora said, sighing with pleasure. She leaned further into him, listening to his strong heartbeat.

Several hours later; the new day dawned. The sun rose over the country of Draconia. The dragons started to wake up. They ate breakfast, before heading to the castle. The towering castle was silhouetted against the sun. The door were closed and the dragons waited in the yard for them to open. They talked excitedly about the crowning of a new king and queen.

Soon the doors opened and the dragons filed in. The doors to the great hall were already opened. Inside the great hall was all decorated and shining. Re, Aurora, Tenor, and Windwalker were sitting in their thrones, wearing their crowns. Chris and Serenity stood next to the platform with Moon and Toothless. Edelweiss stood behind the thrones in her titan form. They all smiled in welcome as the throng of dragons entered. They all took care to go around the long, green carpet that lead from the thrones to the gates outside. Among the crowd was Steel, Jewel, and Tin. They came up to the thrones. Steel carried a large, ornate basket. It concealed the new crowns they'd made for Avalon and her team.

"Thank you," said Aurora. "They're going to love these."

"You're welcome your majesties," said Steel. "Will they be arriving soon?"

"They have just crossed into our waters," said Aurora. "Along with a few dragons from Draco's Nest." Steel and her group joined the crowd. The dragons soon settled themselves. They were still talking excitedly. Edelweiss looked out the big window, looking for her friends.

Avalon and her friends were following the dragons from Berk. They were all heading back to Draconia for the coronation. Cloudjumper had insisted that they were the last to arrive, since they were the star of the show. Eclipse decided to watch the coronation from the audience with her parents. They sang songs the whole trip home. They flew over the golden gates. There were dragons everywhere, on the hills around the lagoon and in the air over the lagoon. They all roared and cheered. The dragons from Berk flew on ahead and joined the crowd in the castle, along with Eclipse.

Avalon and her friends soon reached the castle, and were mind boggled by the number of dragons waiting for them. They all cheered when they saw them. Avalon blushed.

"So how does this work?" Black Widow asked.

"I'm going to be crowned queen," said Avalon. "Then I'll announce Eider as my king."

"Do you have to give a speech?" Apollo asked.

"No," said Avalon. "I'll say something, but no long speeches." She led her group to the front of the castle gates, and landed. "Well, the time has come my friends. Lets do this." She clicked her talons and all the armor vanished, as well as Apollo's utility vest.

"Hey!" Apollo protested.

"You'll get it back afterwords," Avalon promised him. Apollo eased up and smiled again. They all turned to face the gates, standing in a line. The gates opened and the crowd fell silent.

"I wish Hiccup and his friends could be here to see this," said Eider.

"Me too," said Avalon. "I will miss them for sure." She then led her group down the green carpet. They held their head high. They approached the large front doors, which opened of their own accord. Avalon felt her heart pounding in her chest, this was the day she'd been dreaming of all her life. She and her group walked through the doorway and into the entrance hall. They passed more dragons, some from Draco's Nest. The four dragons approached the great hall, whose doors also opened. They saw their elders waiting for them, with Edelweiss in her dragon form, towering behind them. They smiled warmly as Avalon and her team approached their thrones. Eider spotted Ruby and Harmony in the crowd, smiling at him. Eider was quick to notice Harmony's slightly enlarged abdomen. He was so curious, but decided to ask Harmony about that later. He smiled back at them, and followed his friends.

At long last they reached the end of the green carpet, at the platform. Avalon felt her heart pound harder. She took a deep breath as her parents approached her.

"Come forward Avalon," Re said. Avalon walked up to her parents, she could hear in their thoughts that they were just as anxious as she was. She lowered her head humbly. Aurora turned her attention to the audience.

"We are all gathered today to witness the crowning of a new king and queen," she said. She and Re looked down at Avalon.

"Princess Avalon," Re said loudly. "You set out to prove that you have what it takes to rule the dragons of Draconia, as Lord Draco did in the very beginning. From our observations, you and your friends have more than proven worthy to take the throne." Avalon took a deep breath. Aurora sat on her haunches and opened the basket at her feet. She pulled out Avalon's crown.

It was made of white gold with abstract peacock feather carvings. It was decorated with deep blue lapis lazuli and white labradorite stones. It had the Draconian crest on the forehead, and a full plumage of peacock feathers as long as Avalon's horns coming out the back. Avalon had designed it herself, but this was the first time she'd seen it all put together.

Aurora held the crown firmly in her talons. Avalon held very still, her heart still pounding with excitement.

"Princess Avalon," Aurora said, loud and firm. "Do you promise to rule the dragons of Draconia with valor, wisdom, and love?"

"I promise," Avalon said, clearly.

"And do you also swear to rule the dragons of Draconia following the guidance of Lord Draco?" Aurora asked.

"I swear," Avalon answered. Aurora held the crown over her head.

"Then we hereby crown you, Queen Avalon," Aurora said as she placed the crown on Avalon's head, and it magically adjusted to fit her perfectly. When it was secure, Avalon raised her head to look at her parents.

"Thank you," she said. She nuzzled her parents, tears in her eyes. "I love you guys." They nuzzled her back.

"Best of luck to you Avalon," Re whispered.

"We love you too," said Aurora, also teary eyed. "Now you get to announce your king." Then she, Re, Tenor, and Windwalker all walked off the platform. Avalon walked onto it, and turned to face the audience. She took a deep breath, her heart started to slow down again.

"Thank you everyone," she said. She'd enchanted her voice to make it loud enough that it carried to all the dragons in attendance. "I am honored to follow in the footsteps of all the kings and queen that have gone before me, especially Lord Draco. However, I can not do alone. Which is why I have chosen Eider be my king." She looked down at Eider. "Do you, Eider, promise to rule by my side through the dark and the light?"

"I promise," said Eider. Avalon reached into the basket and pulled out Eider's crown. It was made of platinum and was decorated with green aventurine, yellow citrine, and red jasper stones. The head of a king eider duck was carved into the forehead and painted to match the stones. Avalon held it as Eider approached her.

"I crown you King Eider," Avalon announced, placing the crown on his head. It too automatically adjusted to fit. Eider then took his place beside her. They faced the last two.

"Black Widow and Apollo," said Eider. "You have graciously agreed to assist us as Navigator and Rescuer." He and Avalon took out the last two crowns out of the basket. "We grant you these crowns, in hopes that you will remain by our side far into the future." Avalon placed Apollo's crown on him, and Eider placed Black Widow's crown on hers.

Apollo's crown was pure gold. It was decorated with fire opals. It had his insignia, now red, on the forehead. Ten spikes protruded out behind, looking like the rays of the sun. They were embedded with more fire opals.

Black Widow's crown was more gothic. It was carved to look like black spider webs. It glittered with thousands of garnet stones. On the forehead was a large three dimensional spider, with a ruby red hourglass on its abdomen. It went well with her vibrant red eyes.

With their crowns on, they joined the new king and queen on the platform and faced the audience. Avalon threw back her head and let out a loud roar. The other dragons followed suit, including Edelweiss who seemed to shake the whole castle with her thundering roar. The roars were so loud, they carried clear up to Draco's ears.

Later that afternoon; Queen Avalon and King Eider stood with their friends on a hill overlooking the lagoon. The sun shone down, making their scales sparkle and shine. Avalon turned to Toothless and Moon.

"Thank you for coming to our coronation," she said.

"Our pleasure," said Moon. "We have some fun times ahead." Avalon nodded.

"I hope you guys will visit us often," Toothless said.

"For sure," said Avalon. "But we'll take turns visiting, so there's someone here to manage things. Though, when one of us does visit, we'll always bring Edelweiss with us." She looked at Edelweiss, who had shrunk back into her human form. She nodded in agreement. Toothless looked at Eclipse.

"So you're flying back with us?" He asked.

"Yes, then I'll head out on my own," said Eclipse. She was now wearing the leather drawstring bag, containing her dreamvisitor, around her neck. Black Widow was trying to hold back her tears.

"Remember to stay clear of Europe until the Plague passes," Avalon advised.

"I wasn't planning on going to Europe," said Eclipse. "I was planning on heading farther west, to the landmass that will one day be called America." She noticed Black Widow looked so sad. She nuzzled her older sister. "Please don't be sad Sister, I promise to return to you. And I promise to use the dreamvisitor every night. It'll be okay."

"Thanks," said Black Widow, she sniffed. "I'm really going to miss you."

"Yeah, I'll miss you too," Eclipse admitted. "And I love you so much." Black Widow took a deep breath and stepped back. Eclipse turned to the rest of the group.

"I'll save a space for you in the great hall," said Avalon. "Anytime you come for a visit."

"Thank you," said Eclipse. "Good luck you guys, I mean that." Avalon nodded gratefully. Eclipse bowed to her and Eider, before joining the two Furies. Toothless roared into the sky, calling for his dragons who appeared a few minuets later. Toothless, Moon, and Eclipse spread their wings and took off across the lagoon, towards the gate.

When they were out of sight, Avalon and Eider took off for a romantic, courtship flight. Apollo looked over at Black Widow, who was still looking so sad. He went over to her.

"Are you going to be okay?" He asked gently.

"I'll me fine," Black Widow said with a sigh. "Thank you Apollo, for making those dreamvisitors. It'll make this easier." Apollo smiled.

"Hey if you ever need someone to lean on," he said. "I'm available, as is the rest of the group. I like being useful. Can I fly you back to the castle?" Black Widow smiled at him.

"Sure," she said, gratefully. She leaned into him. They both spread their wings and flew back towards the castle. Edelweiss changed back into her dragon form, and laid down on the grass. She watched all the dragons going their separate ways. She made herself comfortable and enjoyed the scenery around her.


	7. To The Chief and Chieftess

Chapter 7

One year later, on the island of New Berk, a thick blanket of snow covered the bran new village that had sprung up. The vikings had readjusted to life without dragons. Hiccup ran the village with Astrid by his side. Things had quieted down a lot since the dragons' departure. However, Hiccup was dreamvisited by Apollo regularly. They would update each other on what was going on in their worlds. Apollo smiled when he reported that all the dragons were safely hidden and no human had found them. He reported that Chris had acquired an old Chinese fishing junk and had plans to turn it into a small warship. Hiccup told Apollo that he'd finally asked Astrid to marry him. He asked if Re would perform it. Apollo asked him, and the following night told Hiccup that Re agreed. A few Draconians were planning to attend.

A few weeks latter, the vikings woke up on the wedding day. It was a bright, snowy, yet sunny day. They were all way excited. Guests from other island arrived including old friends, such as the Berserkers, Outcasts, and Defenders of the Wing. Hiccup and his friends welcomed them happily. The crowd started to gather in the plaza in front of the great hall. It had been set up for the wedding. It hadn't needed a whole lot of decoration, since the plaza was covered in sparking white snow. The alter was set in front of a tall statue of Stoic, the base of which had carvings of Hiccup and Toothless when they were much younger.

About an hour before Hiccup and Astrid were to get ready, the group of friends gathered near the plaza.

"Has everyone arrived?" Astrid asked.

"Almost," said Hiccup. "I've invited some special guests." No sooner had he said that, a thundering roar shattered the snow from the trees. The vikings all came running outside, to see five dragons flying towards the village. They circled, looking for a place to land. Hiccup waved at them, and they came and landed in front of him.

Re was leading the group. Behind him were Aurora, Tenor, Windwalker, their riders, Apollo, and Edelweiss. Re and Aurora weren't wearing their armor or crowns, or their saddles. Hiccup was quick to notice that Re's body was riddled with many scars, remnants of the many wounds he'd gotten throughout his career. The most noticeable were the one on his forehead, and the one on his chest. However his green scales had lost none of their vibrant color.

Beside him Apollo seemed to have covered himself in gold. In addition to his sun crown, around his neck was a thick gold collar that was embedded with large dragon fire opals. Below it was another gold collar, decorated with rubies. All four of his legs had matching bands of gold, decorated with more rubies and more dragon fire opals. There were more gold bands on his tail. Edelweiss was sitting on a dark red leather saddle trimmed in more gold. Roosting on the horn of the saddle was a large black raven that, that had its own ruby encrusted gold collar.

Apollo was the most decorated out of the five dragons. The only other dragon wearing decoration was Aurora, who had a light purple shawl wrapped neatly around her neck, and secured with a snowflake broach. The three humans were wearing different clothes. Chris had a forest green tunic with silver embroidery and brown leather sash, light brown trousers, his black leather boots, and a pair of leather armbands. Serenity wore a knitted peach colored dress that had dragon-shaped embroidery around the waist. She also wore her cowboy hat. Edelweiss wore a cobalt blue Chinese silk dress, embroidered with silver eastern dragons. Her black hair was pulled back into a tight bun, with a thin pair of bamboo sticks stuck into it. She still had her bronze claws attached to the tips of her fingers.

Hiccup beamed when they landed and the three humans dismounted. He hadn't seen the older Draconians in so long.

"Hi Re, thanks for coming," he said.

"Hello Hiccup," Re said. "I hope we're not too late."

"You are right on time," said Hiccup. "It's so good to see you guys again."

"It's been a long time hasn't it?" Re said, smiling. He sounded a bit tired, indicating they'd flown through the night. Tenor glanced around the village.

"So this is where you're all living now," he said. "This place is incredible."

"Thanks," said Hiccup. "It is pretty fun." He turned to Apollo. "Did you bring the thing I ordered from Avalon?"

"Yes," said Apollo. "And it's Queen Avalon now." The raven poked its beak into Apollo's saddlebag, and pulled out a small wooden box. The raven flew over and landed on Hiccup's shoulder, and dropped the box into his hand. The raven cawed proudly.

"Nice raven," said Snotlout.

"Thanks," said Apollo. "His name's Caliburn. I communicate telepathically with him. He's real friendly and very smart." Hiccup opened the box. Inside were two gold rings. One had a Deadly Nadder carved around the band, and the other had a Night Fury.

"Do you like them?" Edelweiss asked.

"Yes, they're perfect," said Hiccup. "Tell Avalon thanks." He closed the box and handed it back to Caliburn. The raven flew over and perched on Edelweiss's shoulder.

"We'll let you get ready," said Aurora. "We can catchup afterwords."

"Right," said Hiccup. He handed Re a scroll. "These are your instructions." Re took the scroll. He unrolled it.

"Very well," he said, rolling it back up. "It'll be perfect."

Hiccup and Astrid went their separate ways. Chris, Serenity, and Edelwiess went to assist them receptively. The dragons joined the crowd. Re went to the alter where he looked over his instructions. Valka handed him a fine white cloth with gold embroidery in the shape of a dragon. He took it and gripped it with his tail. He read and reread the instructions until he had them memorized. The crowd started to gather in front of the tall statue.

About an hour later Hiccup came up to him. He now wore a white tunic with brass cuffs and pale gray trousers. He had a beige leather belt around his waist, secured by a gold buckle with a Night Fury head engraved on it. Around his shoulders was Stoic's old fur cape, secured with a pair of clasps that also had Night Fury carvings. He had a wreath of green leaves, and tiny white flowers.

"Very nice," Re said quietly. "I take it you wanted to honor your father and best friend."

"Yes," said Hiccup. "I would not be here today, if it weren't for them." He took a deep breath. "I'm really nervous."

"Of course you are," Re said. "But remember it's not going to be just you up here." Hiccup took another deep breath.

"Thanks for doing this Re," he said, talking to help calm his nerves.

"My pleasure," Re said calmly. "This'll be fun." He smiled warmly. Just then the crowd hushed and turned towards the far end of the aisle. There stood Astrid.

She wore a long white dress, with a bronze sash around her waist, and matching armbands. A silver line ran down the front of the dress, from collar to hem. Around her shoulders was a white fur cape, secured with a pair of bronze clasps that were engraved with Deadly Nadder heads. Her long blond hair hung loose down her back. Around her head was a wreath of pink flowers. She held a bouquet of the same pink flowers.

She smiled as she walked slowly towards the alter. The crowd smiled at her, awestruck. This was the first time anyone had seen Astrid wear anything like this. She usually wore her hair up, and wore clothing that complimented Stormfly and wouldn't be out of place on a battlefield. Astrid swore silently to herself that this would be the only time she'd wear anything this fancy.

At long last she reached the alter. She handed her bouquet to Valka, and took Hiccup's outstretched hand. She stood across from him, and took his other hand in hers. Re sat calmly on his haunches and cleared his throat.

"We are gathered here today to witness the union of Chief Hiccup of House Haddock and Astrid of House Hofferson," Re said, strong and clear. "They've had many adventures together through the years. They've fought foes, and flown on the backs of dragons. They have supported each other through the dark and the light. They have now decided to take on future adventures as Chief and Chieftess. I have been asked to recognize and thank all who have come today. I've also been ask to recognize those who weren't able to attend to day, may they never be forgotten. Now, my I have the rings?" At that moment Caliburn flew over and handed the ring box to Re. He took it, and the raven flew back to Apollo. Re opened the box. "Hiccup and Astrid have decided to give each other these rings as a gesture of love and commitment. May these rings remind them that love is precious." He turned to Hiccup, and held the box out to him. "Hiccup Haddock III, do you take Astrid Hofferson to be your wedded wife, in darkness and in light, for as long as you shall live?" Hiccup took the Nadder shaped ring out of the box. He gently took Astrid's left hand.

"I do," he said, as he slid the ring onto Astrid's ring finger. Re then turned to Astrid, and held the box out to her.

"Astrid Hofferson," he continued. "Do you take Hiccup Haddock III as your wedded husband, in darkness and in light, for as long as you shall live?"

"I do," said Astrid, as she slid the Night Fury shaped ring onto Hiccup's left ring finger. They kept their hands gently entwined. Re closed the box and put on the ground beside him. He took the ceremonial cloth and very carefully wrapped it loosely around Hiccup's and Astrid's hands. He was very careful to not scratch them, or snag the cloth with his talons.

"I, with this ceremonial cloth, binding together your hands and your lives with a bond so strong it can only be untied in the halls of Valhalla," Re said. "I hereby seal you as husband and wife." He lowered his head humbly and spread his wings majestically. Then he lifted his head. "Hiccup, you may kiss your bride." Hiccup and Astrid leaned towards each other, and gently pressed their lips together. Re threw back his head, his wings held high, and let out a thundering roar.

"To the Chief and Cheiftess!" Gobber roared. The crowd erupted with cheers. The vikings applauded, and the dragons flapped their wings and shot fire into the sky. Hiccup and Astrid turned and faced their people, the ceremonial cloth clasped firmly in there interlocked hands. They headed back up the aisle towards the great hall.

Later in the great hall, the wedding feast was in full swing. Everyone came up to congratulate the newlyweds. When it was Edelweiss's turn, she handed them a large scroll.

"This is a wedding present to you, from the king and queen of the Hidden World," she said smiling. Hiccup unrolled the scroll; it was a large, detailed map from New Berk to the Hidden World. It not only showed the way to go, but it mapped out the currents around the entrance so they could sail right up to it without being pulled over the falls. "They came up with the idea, and I helped them make it. They ask that you protect this with your life."

"Wow," Hiccup said, truly awestruck. "Thank you. We promise to keep this safe for sure."

"How are they doing down there?" Astrid asked.

"They're doing really well," Edelweiss assured them. "They're very happy. They miss you guys of course, as I'm sure you miss them. But they love their new home, and how safe it is."

"We do miss them," said Astrid. "We hope to see them again someday."

"That is a certainty," said Edelweiss. "You guys are bonded to your dragons forever."

"How are things on your end?" Hiccup asked.

"Pretty great," said Edelweiss. "Black Widow has shown interest in Apollo. She's had a tough time since Eclipse left the group. Apollo has been a shoulder for her to lean on, and she's indebted to him for making the dreamvisitors. Also Harmony has hatched two eggs and now has two daughters; Glory and Kinkajou." She giggled.

"Does Eider know?" Hiccup asked.

"Oh yes," said Edelweiss. "He likes them. Though he doesn't really see them as sisters, since he's not actually related to them."

"Edel, you're holing up he line," said Serenity from across the room. Edelweiss shook herself.

"Right," she said. Then she hugged Astrid, then Hiccup. "Congratulations you guys, best of luck to you." She stepped back, and skipped merrily over to her family.

After the wedding feast; Hiccup, Astrid, and their friends walked with the Draconians towards the cliff where they'd said good bye to their dragons. Hiccup and Astrid were holding hands again.

"So, how'd I do?" Re asked them, humbly.

"You nailed it Re," Hiccup said. "Thank you so much." They had reached the cliff, that overlooked the sea below and beyond.

"We'll be forever grateful to you dragons," said Astrid. "Not just for today, but for all you've done." The Draconians walked forward, then turned to face their viking friends.

"You're so welcome," said Aurora. "We've had a great time with you guys, our children have as well. We are grateful to you as well."

"Will we ever see you again?" Astrid asked, sounding hopeful.

"I hope so," said Re. "You're some of the most unforgettable humans I've ever met." He chuckled. He shuffled his wings and turned to his family. "Lets go home."

"Tell our dragons we said hi," said Fishlegs.

"We will," Apollo promised. The humans mounted their dragons. Re looked back at the vikings.

"Farewell my friends," he said warmly. "We'll never forget you. I pray this won't be our last parting." He smiled. Then the dragons spread their wings and took off. They headed out over the sea, back towards their home. Astrid laid her head on Hiccup's shoulder, and he put his arm around her shoulder. They smiled sadly, as they watched the Draconians fly away.


	8. Epilogue: Once There were Dragons

Epilogue

_"There were dragons when I was a boy. There were great grim sky dragons that nested on the on the cliff tops like gigantic scary birds. Little brown scuddely dragons that hunted down mice and rats in well organized packs. Preposterously huge sea dragons that were twenty times as big as the big blue whale. Some say they crawled back into the sea, leaving not a bone or a fang for man to remember by. Others say they were nothing but folk tales to begin with."_

King Toothless sat on a rock, on the rim of the Great Falls. The mist from the falls felt refreshing on his scales. On his right was Queen Moon, on his left was Queen Avalon and Edelweiss. Edel had grown slightly, but she's was still pretty tiny. She wore a simple light blue summer dress. Avalon was wearing her peacock feather crown. Toothless had wanted Edelweiss to work for him, and live in Draco's Nest. But she refused out of devout loyalty to her queen. So, he hired her for a very special job.

Running around the rock, were Toothless's and Moon's three dragonets. They were the size of lion cubs and just has energetic. Comet was the only white one. He had black spines, black on the tips of his ears and tail. His eyes were aqua green. Even though the tree dragonets had hatched at the same time, he acted as the oldest and bossed around his siblings. Orca was black with white paws and white tummy. She also had a white spot on her nose, and white on the tips of her ears and tail fins. She was a daddy's girl and was always following Toothless around. She loved to draw like he did, and was just as bouncy and playful as he was. Starflight was also black with white paws, white tummy, white spines, and white on the tips of his sonar flaps and tail. His eyes were apple green. He was the curious one. He loved learning and listening to stories. However, he was also cautious. He would rather listen to stories of adventures then go on an adventure himself.

Edelweiss had helped Moon while she was on the nest, just as Serenity had helped Queen Aurora. Toothless had to do his job as king, so he wasn't always able to be at Moon's side. Edelweiss kept Moon company, the whole time, until the eggs hatched. Though their parents had given them their individual names, Edelweiss gave all three of them the title of Night Light. Toothless and Moon had been so grateful for her help that they named her godmother. After getting approval from Queen Avalon, Edelweiss accepted, because she flat out adored the Night Lights. She was always willing to babysit them while their parents left to due their jobs.

The adults watched the Night Lights playing on the rock, making sure they didn't get swept over the falls. Comet ran over to Edelweiss, growling playfully. She tossed him a sardine, which he missed. He quickly snatched it off the rock before one of his siblings got it. Edelweiss scratched his ears. He purred and rolled onto his back lazily. Edelweiss tickled his tummy, making him squeal with laughter. He playfully attacked her hand, all teeth and claws. Luckily Edelweiss had skin tough enough to stand up to Comet's play biting.

"You silly thing," Edelweiss laughed. She gently pried her hand free, and scooped Comet into her lap. She scratched his ears again. Comet jumped out of her lap, and ran over to tackle his siblings.

"We should take them into the sky," Moon suggested, nuzzling Orca. "They haven't flown out here yet."

"I'd also like to take them night flying," Toothless said. "They haven't yet seen Aurora's Fire." Starflight was listening, because he always listened to his parents talk, even if they're weren't talking to him.

"What, is, Aurora's Fire?" He asked slowly.

"They're colorful dancing lights in the night sky," Moon said softly. "They're very pretty." Starflight's eyes widened. Toothless was about to explain farther, when Edelweiss tapped him on the shoulder. He looked at her and she pointed towards the horizon, which she had been watching absentmindedly. Toothless followed her gaze. The mist from the falls was a bit dense, but through it Toothless could make out the shape of a mast and sail, heading for them. He sat up in alert. Moon looked at that direction as well, the Night Lights sat up looking confused.

"Is that a human vessel?" Moon asked, worried.

"Yes," Toothless said. He looked at Avalon. "I thought your brother were supposed to be keeping ships away from the falls."

Chris and Serenity paroled the waters around the Great Falls, on their boat called Dracorex. It was a three sailed Chinese junk; with tall, red fin-shaped sails, black haul, and red trim. It had the latest in weaponry, cannons. The top deck was lined with six long-range cannons. In addition Dracorex was enchanted to sail anywhere it was told, despite wind conditions. As well as enchanted to be completely indestructible and unsinkable. Toothless had hired them to sail the waters around the Great Falls, steering foreign ships away. It prevented any humans from finding the dragons' home, and it prevented innocent travelers from being swept over the falls.

Edelweiss watched the ship come closer. It stopped and dropped anchor.

"Well, maybe they're friends," she said. "My parents would never let a ship get passed them unless they were sure it was safe." Toothless got to his feet, his whole body tense.

"Moon, you stay here with the Night Lights," he instructed sternly. "Edel, Avalon, will you cover my while I investigate?"

"Sure," said Edelweiss. She got to her feet, and mounted Avalon. They took off and circled low over the ship. They were low enough that Edelweiss could read the name of the boat; The Hopeful Puffin. She smirked in amusement. Toothless spread his wings and soared into the air. He arched over the water, and dived towards the ship. He landed with a thud, on the ship's prow. He looked at the four passengers suspiciously. There was a man and woman, as well as a little boy and girl. Toothless looked down at the man. He was tall, with broad shoulders, dark brown hair and beard. He looked up at Toothless, looking just as tense as the dragon was.

"Hey," the man said so quietly. "Hey there Bud, remember me?" Toothless stared hard at him, this man did look so familiar. He slowly crawled down onto the deck, not breaking eye contact with the man. He paid no mind to the woman and two children, not even noticing Avalon and Edelweiss coming to a stop and hovering over the boat. Toothless walked up to the man, trying to figure out where he knew him from. Everyone seemed to be holding their breath. Then the man turned his head away, and held his hand out to Toothless. The Night Fury recognized that gesture at once, and tackled his old friend with a happy roar. Hiccup laughed excitedly. It had been almost ten years since they'd seen each other. Edelweiss and Avalon laughed as well.

"It's good to see you too Bud!" Hiccup exclaimed. Toothless jumped around happily, making the boat rock. The only ones not laughing were the little boy and girl. They hid their faces in their mother's shoulder. Astrid had knelt down and hugged them close.

"He's not going to eat your father," she assured them. They watched as Toothless licked Hiccup's face, just like old times.

"How's the tail holding up?" Hiccup asked. "Could probably use some oil, and little fine-tuning." Toothless barked a laugh. He finally backed up a bit allowing Hiccup to sit up. The two of them then turned to Astrid and the two children.

Toothless smiled at the children, thrilled that his human friend had also started a family. They were beautiful children. The little girl looked like the older one. She had dark brown hair and blue eyes. The little boy had blond hair and green eyes.

Hiccup held his hand out to them, and Astrid nudged them forward. The boy and girl dragged their feet, they clearly wanted to be no where near the big, black dragon that took up half the boat. But were soon standing right in front of him.

"He won't hurt you," Hiccup told them gently. "Hold your hand out, like this." He raised their hands towards Toothless's nose, just as he had done. The two kids covered their faces with their other hand. "Let him come to you." Hiccup encouraged. The kids held perfectly still. Toothless looked down at them, for a moment. Then gently put his snout in their hands. They opened their eyes to see themselves petting the big dragon's nose. They stared, now awestruck. Toothless lowed his head to their level, looking at them with his big eyes, and gave them his gummy grin.

"Hey, he doesn't have any teeth," the girl observed.

"That's why his name is Toothless," said Hiccup.

"That's a funny name," the little boy giggled. Toothless pinned his ears back bashfully. Astrid looked up at Edelweiss and Avalon, still hovering over the boat.

"Hi Edel, hi Avalon," she said.

"Hello Astrid," said Edelweiss, smiling. "Hi Hiccup." Hiccup looked up at them as well.

"Say, do you think we can join you for an evening flight?" He asked. Avalon and Edelweiss exchanged a glance, first with Toothless, then with each other.

"Sure," said Avalon. "Edel, why don't you wait up here and talk with these guys, while I go get Stormfly." Edelweiss took a deep breath.

"All right," she said. Avalon hovered lower over the Hopeful Puffin's railing. Edelweiss jumped onto it, effortlessly. Avalon turned and headed back towards the falls. Edelweiss perched on the railing and hopped down onto the deck. She looked nervous. She took a deep breath.

"Good to see you Edelweiss," said Hiccup. He looked her up and down. Edelweiss only came up to Astrid's shoulder, but looked more womanly. Her black hair hung down to her shoulders, a portion of it was pulled back behind her head, and secured with a bejeweled dragon fly hairpin.

"Good to see you guys too," Edelweiss said, smiling. "How've you been?" Her eyes went to the two children. They were still petting Toothless.

"Yeah," said Astrid. "This is Zephyr and Nuffink." She pointed to the girl, then the boy. "Guys, this is Edelweiss." The two children looked up at Edelweiss. She smiled at them.

"Hello, Zephyr, Nuffink," she said. In her mind, she compared them to the three Night Lights

"Hi," Zephyr said shyly. "Your dress is very pretty."

"Thank you," said Edelweiss. She leaned casually on the ship's railing, and tapped her bronze talons on the wood. "So, what do you guys think of old Toothless?"

"He's kind of scary," said Nuffink.

"True," Edelweiss said. "But he's harmless. He loves kids, both human and dragon. Which is why he has three of his own." Toothless beamed, his eyes shinning.

"So it wasn't a trick of the mist," said Astrid. "Toothless does have his own little ones."

"Yes," Edelweiss confirmed. "Night Lights I call them."

"Did you come up with that name?" Hiccup asked.

"Yeah," Edelweiss said. "I wanted to call them something that makes sense, and didn't make them sound like monsters. I've looked through your Book of Dragons and there seems to be six dragon species with the word death in their name." She rolled her eyes.

"So what else have you guys been up to, over there in Draconia?" Astrid asked.

"Well," said Edelweiss. "Black Widow and Apollo have made things official. Eclipse travels all over the world, and only visits once in a while. Avalon has turned the great hall into an indoor forest glade. Complete with trees, grassy hills, wild flowers, and a lake. And that apple you gave us, from my mother's tree, Avalon regrew the tree from its seed and it has now become her throne. She's acquired two adult peacocks and keeps them in the great hall too."

"Did you say a lake?" Hiccup asked.

"Yup," said Edelweiss. "Draconia's very own Lake of Avalon. She enchanted it to show her what's going on in the human world, and what's going on in the dragon kingdoms."

"What about you?" Astrid asked. Edelweiss looked down

"Well," she said. "I don't have a partner like everyone else. So I've created a quiet life for myself. I visit this place often. My grandmother created three passageways that link Draco's Nest and Draconia. One entrance is located under the castle where the vaults and dungeons are. It goes right to the Sunstone Chamber. One is located behind Dragon Falls, and comes leads to this waterfall." She gestured to the Great Falls behind her. "The third one is located in my parents house, and leads right onto their boat no matter where it is." She thought a second. "Oh and you remember the Deathgrippers?" Hiccup and Astrid both nodded, grimacing. "Well, turns out they survived that last battle. They washed up on Draconia's shore. I've rehabilitated them, and they're my friends now."

"All six of them?" Astrid asked.

"Yup, all six of them," said Edelweiss. "They've been drugged for a long time, they forgot their own names. So I renamed them; Sting, Wasp, Arachnid, Scuttle, Beatle, and Lizard."

"So you trained them," said Hiccup.

"No, I didn't train them," said Edelweiss. "I rehabilitated them, there's a difference. I don't make them do what I say, I just help them. They're very sweet, more like overgrown sheepdogs." She chuckled. Just then they heard two dragons flying towards them. They looked up to see Avalon returning with Stormfly behind her. Astrid's face lit up when she saw her Nadder. Avalon created a landing platform out of seaweed, and they both landed on it. Stormfly squawked happily. Astrid hugged her nose horn.

"Stormfly!" She exclaimed. Stormfly nuzzled her. Edelweiss mounted Avalon.

"We'll meet you guys up there," said Avalon. "I've already told Moon, and she'll come up with the Night Lights." Toothless nodded and they took off.

_"Legend says, that when the ground quakes, or lava spews from the Earth. It's the dragons, letting us know that they're still here. Waiting for us to figure out how to get along."_

They flew high over the sea, through the clouds. They were shortly joined by Toothless and Stormfly, with their riders. Hiccup and Astrid had a child riding with them. They all looked so free, and so happy. The three dragons raced through the clouds, their riders whooping with excitement. Toothless flew up and down. He would fly as high as he could, then stall and drop back down towards the other two. Every time he did, Hiccup would toss Nuffink into the air, and catch him. Edelweiss smiled, remembering when her father would do that while flying on Windwalker. They met up with Moon and her Night Lights. The little dragons flew in a line on their mother's tail. They spotted the humans and flew over to fly around their father. Comet, who was the bravest of the three, flew closer. Nuffink looked at him curiously. He reached out to pet the dragonet. But Comet pawed his hand away, playfully. He then flew back over to his siblings.

_"Yes, the world believes the dragons are gone, if they ever existed at all. But we Berkians, we know otherwise. And we'll guard the secret. Until the time comes when dragons can return in peace."_

The family of dragons and humans flew over the sea, keeping the Great Falls in their sight. Once they spotted Dracorex sailing below, its vivid red sails stood out against the blue water. They circled over it once, then flew back up into the clouds.

The End


End file.
